Yellowjacket: Aftermath
by Lord Candycane
Summary: After the events of Yellowjacket, it seems as if San Francisco is on its way to recovery. Now cured of her infection, Riley Andersen, joined by her friends, both dead and alive, strive for a normal life in a world that's still half-dead. But that may prove harder than they thought, especially when they learn an enemy they thought gone is lurking in the shadows.
1. Chapter 1

_And here it is, the follow-up to Yellowjacket. I know it took a few months, but it's finally here. Just a heads-up: I don't plan for this to be very long. It's just here to wrap a few things up._

 _With that said, let's continue._

* * *

 ** _Aftermath_**

* * *

"Is. . . Arabella here?"

Of all the things Mary Godwin expected to hear when she answered the door, this was the last of them. The thought of anyone asking to see Arabella, aka the Pale Girl, was downright mind-boggling to her.

But then again, this was the post-apocalypse.

Standing at the door was a man that everyone had come to know of as the Boss. Then again, he didn't look so boss-like, now; he was dressed in average clothing, his blonde hair had been combed back, and he was no longer wearing glasses, thus letting everyone see his half-dead, half-alive eyes.

The Boss, Mary and Arabella were what the "Freaks" referred to as "Others". For nearly a year, the Others had taken over San Francisco and many parts of the country. If a Freak was found, they were pursued relentlessly until they were caught and converted into an Other, having their humanity and memories stripped from them, reducing them to a lifeless husk of their former selves.

That is, until a very special girl changed everything. Her name was Riley K. Ann Andersen.

Or as the Others called her, Yellowjacket.

Thanks to Riley, the Others, and by extension the entire city, were able to heal and be integrated back into normal society, and the Freaks, who used to be hunted down by them, could now help them heal further. And now San Francisco, and the rest of the nation, was on its way back to recovery.

But that was besides the point.

"You wan to see. . . Arabella?" Mary asked the Boss, for confirmation. She admittedly didn't know very much about the Boss, but she did know that he and Arabella had a _very_ rocky past. After all, the Boss was partially responsible for Arabella becoming Patient Zero and kicking off the whole apocalypse in the first place.

The Boss paused for a brief moment, then said, "Yes."

Mary was miffed, but she opened the door the whole way through and let the Boss inside. The man strolled in, observing the furniture in the house as he searched for the young blonde girl.

"Mary, who was at the door?" A voice called out from downstairs. It was Mary's twin brother, George.

"It's just the Boss," Mary replied.

"But we don't have a job!" Another voice, which Mary identified as Rob, called out.

"No, it's just me!" The Boss shouted down to the basement. "I'm just visiting. There was someone I wanted to talk to, so you could you point me in the right direction and-"

Suddenly, the door upstairs was kicked open, and the Boss whipped his head up. His eyes widened as he saw a familiar figure walk down the stairs.

"Hey, Mary, who's at the door-" Arabella, known better as Pale Girl, started, but stopped when she noticed the Boss. Her smile turned into a bitter frown, and her eyes narrowed.

"Oh, it's you," She said, her voice turning raspy.

The Boss gulped. It had been several months since he'd last seen Arabella. He was shocked that, after the time that had passed, she still looked so corpse-like. She was definitely more human now than before, but she still had the long claws, fanged teeth, and vaguely dead eyes that bore into his soul. It was in stark contrast to him and Mary, who could pass off for fully-cured now.

Despite his visible fear, the Boss spoke. "So, I was talking to my friend Bill, and after months of prompting, he's finally convinced me that the two of us should talk," He said, trying to get Arabella in a good mood. "You know, bury the hatchet between us. What do you think?"

Arabella responded by giving the Boss an animalistic hiss.

The Boss' hopeful yet nervous smile quickly turned into a frown.

He knew instantly that this was going to be way harder than he would've liked. Granted, it was no harder than he expected, but that didn't endear him to it any more.

* * *

"You excited, Riley?" Jill Andersen asked her thirteen year old daughter as she packed her schoolbag. "It's your first day of school in over a year. Aren't you happy?"

In the months that had passed between the battle at the Hideout and moving back to their old home, Bill and Jill, Riley's parents, had mostly given up fighting Others, especially now that their daughter was fully cured. Instead, they were attempting to go back to being as normal a family as possible.

Riley shrugged her shoulders at her mom. "I dunno, I guess I have mixed thoughts," She said to Jill. "I mean, on one hand, it's school. But on the other hand, hopefully going to school will let the young Others become more human again, so that's a plus!"

"That's my bright little girl," Jill said, ruffling her daughter's hair. "Always staying positive!"

"Yeah mom, that's me," Riley said, chuckling. "Always positive."

But in her mind, that wasn't exactly the case.

 _ **(In Riley's Mind)**_

"Um, guys," Fear asked the other emotions at the console. "Do you really think we're ready to go to school again? I mean, we practically skipped an entire year of education while we were in that 'Yellowjacket' phase. What if we've forgotten our education?"

"Now Fear, calm down," Joy, always the optimist, reassured him. "It was just a year."

"And a half," Sadness reminded.

"Okay, a year and a half," Joy said, still keeping the smile. "But it's not like we missed much. I mean, the teachers skipped an entire year of education us, so there you go. We go to school, get our education, and we're back to business!"

"And Meg's joining us, too!" Sadness pointed out. "That's a plus!"

Disgust decided to butt in. "Okay, while we're discussing our education, there's another problem," She pointed out. "The Other children."

"What about the other children?" Joy asked, confused. Realization set in, and she just said, "Oh."

"I mean, do you realize how uncomfortable it's going to be when you're at school and you're the only normal person?" Disgust asked. "We're going to be surrounded by Others who haven't been fully cured yet."

"But they're on the way there," Joy reminded her. "Riley was an Other, and now look where we are."

"And Others don't bite anymore, remember," Sadness interjected. "They may be kind of creepy, but they're harmless, now."

"I don't know," Anger, who had kept quiet up until now, said. "I mean, it's a big city. How do we know _all_ of the Others are safe? Remember those ferals Sawbones released those months ago? They definitely weren't harmless."

"Anger, relax," Joy said, leaning on the console. "The ferals were taken care of, remember. They were all caught, so don't worry about a thing. Trust me, today is going to be the safest day ever."

* * *

In another part of the city, a young woman walked down an empty street to try and find her way to work. She had missed her taxi, and was trying to locate her workplace by memory.

She paused when she heard a soft growl coming from within a dark alley. Slowly turning in the direction of the alley, she asked, "Is somebody there?"

She was met with silence. The woman stood there, silent, waiting for some kind of respond. A few minutes passed, and she heard no sounds.

Eventually, she shrugged. "Must be my imagination," She said, and continued walking down the sidewalk as if nothing happened.

As she did, she didn't notice several lifeless eyes peer out from the alley and watch her as she leave. A single word was uttered from the darkness of the alley, one spoken in a raspy, almost inhumane voice.

 _"Freak."_

* * *

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	2. Chapter 2

_Glad the first chapter got reviews. I'll get to responses next chapter._

* * *

The Boss had no idea what he was supposed to say to Patient Zero, or as he'd come to discover was her real name, Arabella.

Heck, what _could_ he say? He had taken in her and been complicit in experimenting on her, which had inadvertently turned her into a feral animal that kick-started a virus that very nearly destroyed the country, and had spent over a year hunting her like some escaped animal.

No normal person would forgive someone who did that, much less Arabella.

But the Boss was prepared, however tentatively, to give atonement a try. At least, if he could get Arabella to listen to him.

But it appeared that the young girl had no intention of listening. Currently, she was crouched at the top of a dresser in Mary's room, leering down at the Boss with a look of pure hate. She said nothing, but her stare spoke volumes.

The Boss shook a bit. Even after all these months of everybody healing, physically and mentally, Arabella's appearance still reminded him of the feral girl who had killed many people and terrified the Other population. While she looked more like a normal girl now, there was no doubt she was still dangerous, and he knew she could still kill him at any moment, should she feel like it.

Fighting past his fear, the Boss found the will to speak. "So, Arabella," He paused for a moment as he tried to think of what to say next. "Long time no see. You look. . . better."

Arabella bared her teeth at him. The Boss could see that she still had fangs. However, he continued.

"So, it's been a few months," He said, hoping to calm the angered girl. "I'm pretty sure both of us have had time to think about the past and reflect on things, and possibly become a little more mature. And what's more mature than letting go of past grudges, eh?" He gave a hopeful smile.

Arabella stared at him, a non-humorous look on her face. Seeing it made the Boss' smile slowly vanish.

Finally, Arabella spoke.

"You stink of fear," She rasped at him, leaning in a little closer, but close enough that the Boss felt the need to back up a bit.

"Are you afraid?" Arabella continued, her voice like that of the undead. "Why seek peace, if you are scared?"

The Bossed gulped, suddenly losing the will to speak.

"Are you scared of me?" Arabella inquired, slowly rising from the dresser. "Scared that I might come over there and tear your throat out? Then you must truly not want friendship, if you are afraid of the one you are extending it towards."

She paused a moment, then spoke once more, her voice a whisper.

"And in that case, I shall not forgive."

And with that, she pounced.

The Boss let out a surprised shout and instinctively shielded himself, waiting for the agonizing feeling of Arabella's claws shredding his skin. It was then that he heard a soft bouncing sound coming from behind him.

Slowly uncovering his eyes, the Boss turned around, and saw Arabella standing on the bed behind him, glaring at him. He realized that she was testing him; she was never aiming for him.

"I knew it," Arabella whispered, and the Boss could sense a hint of bitterness in her voice. He nearly swore, realizing quickly that he had blown his chance.

"You're still afraid," The young girl whispered, turning away from him, her eyes stony. "Do me a favor and show yourself out. You have no business in this house." She jumped onto the ground and stormed out of the room, leaving the door open.

The Boss stared at the open door where Arabella had gone, and then stamped his foot.

"Dammit!" He shouted. "Why is it so hard to get a little girl to forgive me?!"

* * *

Riley took a deep breath. This was it. It was time to go back to school.

Silently, she wondered if she was ready to go back, especially after all that had transpired. After all, so many people had changed during the apocalypse. What would the students be like now? What about the teachers?

"Riley?" She heard her mother whisper to her from behind. Turning around, she saw Jill hand her her schoolbag. Bill was standing next to her.

"I know you're nervous, but think of this as any other school," Jill told her, ruffling Riley's hair. "After all, you've faced off against much worse than math quizzes and tests."

Riley smiled, and nodded. "Thanks, mom," She said. Reaching up, she gave her mom a kiss.

Bill gave Riley a hug. "You go there and grab that school by the horns," He encouraged her. "Show them that you're not to be messed with!"

"I will!" Riley said, her face bright. Turning around, she rushed to the door and swung it open, only to jump in surprise when she saw that someone was there.

"Ghoul?!" She shouted, surprised.

Standing at the door was the 20-something woman who had been Riley's mother figure during her "Yellowjacket" phase. She had moved into the neighborhood months ago, along with her friend Noose, who, like her and Riley, had been apart of Sawbones' gang during the apocalypse.

Ghoul, like everybody else, looked different now; her black hair was up in a ponytail, and her painted chalk white skin had been removed, revealing her true skin color. She still had some heavy makeup on her face, though, particularly black lipstick and eyeliner.

"Hey Riley," She said to the young girl, smiling. Even though she was technically no longer Riley's mother figure, she still liked to visit the Andersens frequently.

"Hi Ghoul," Riley replied after calming down. "Where's Noose?"

"He's still applying for that part-time job," Ghoul said, shrugging her shoulders. Noticing the schoolbag, she asked, "Where are you going?"

"School," Riley said bluntly.

"Oh, right," Ghoul replied, nodding. She bit her lip, and she and Riley stood there awkwardly for a few moments, not saying anything. Eventually, Riley heard a cough behind her, and turned to her parents, who gestured for her to move.

"Um, I'm kinda late now," Riley pointed out to Ghoul. "Must get going."

"Oh, sure," Ghoul said, stepping out of the way. Riley immediately rushed down the sidewalk towards her school, and turned to wave goodbye to Ghoul. She waved back.

Riley turned around and continued to walk down the sidewalk. Hopefully, she would meet Meg on the way to school.

And then, life could start once more.

* * *

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_


	3. Chapter 3

_Guest: Wow, I can't believe I managed to be that convincing._

 _I am a burglar: Good._

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: Yes._

 _Korrasami 88: Don't start, okay?_

 _MrScourch: Well that's not good enough for Arabella, is it? No, Ghoul's not part of the school staff; she doesn't even have a job yet. Hopefully, the tax collector won't come for a long time._

 _Antha1: Meg moved to San Francisco. As for the Boss...eh, plot._

* * *

After Riley had left for school, Jill extended Ghoul to go home. Oddly enough, she didn't.

The younger woman stood in the living room, looking particularly odd. Her feet were shifting, her hands were clasped together, and she was looking around the house, as if searching for something. She was making a low whistling sound to ease the silence.

Jill stared at Ghoul, confused. _Is this how Others would act when Freaks weren't around?_ She wondered to herself. She shook the thought away immediately. Ghoul and the others weren't Others anymore. They were human. . . sort of. Maybe not quite, but getting there.

Eventually, Jill decided to say something. "Hey," She said to Ghoul.

Ghoul's head snapped over to Jill, almost as if she'd forgotten she was standing there. Almost automatically, she replied, "Hi."

Her voice was different now, Jill noticed. It wasn't raspy, like an Other, but rather soft and meek. It sounded especially weird coming out of the mouth of someone dressed like a goth.

An awkward silence followed. Jill said, "What'cha doing?"

"Uh, nothing," Ghoul replied, shrugging her shoulders tensely. She wasn't looking at Jill; her eyes were instead wandering around the room.

Eventually, Ghoul said, "How's Riley?"

Jill blinked once, then said, "Oh, she's doing great. After she was cured, it took a while to get used to a normal life again, but she's getting through it easily, especially now that she's with her mom and dad again."

"Yeah, her mom and dad again," Ghoul said, lowering her head. Jill paused for a moment. Did she hear a twinge of sadness in Ghoul's voice?

Ghoul walked over to the door. "Glad your daughter's doing okay," She called out, not losing the sad tone, before she shut the door behind her and left, leaving Jill alone to contemplate her conversation.

* * *

 _ **(In Jill's Mind)  
**_

"Did you guys catch that?" Sadness asked the other emotions, staring at the door where Ghoul had just left.

"Yeah, something's wrong," Joy agreed, nodding her head. "She showed all the signs. Lowered head, spaced-out eyes, shifty feet, sad tone in her voice...something's definitely up with her."

"How can you tell?" Anger asked, squinting her eyes.

"Come on, we're a mother; we know these things," Joy replied.

Hearing that, Sadness' eyes widened. "Hey, I think that's it!" She said, sitting up in her chair.

"What?" The other emotions asked in unison.

"While Riley was an Other, who was her mother figure?" Sadness quizzed the other emotions.

After a moment's pause, Joy said, with a shrug, "Ghoul?"

"Exactly!" Sadness pointed out. "I think she misses being Riley's mother. Don't you remember what she said to us those few months ago?"

". . . No," The other emotions replied in unison.

Sadness let out a sigh, and pressed a button on the control console. A blue memory orb was lowered, flashing the memory in front of the emotions for them to see. The orb revealed Jill, Ghoul and Noose walking down an empty street during their search for Riley, then Yellowjacket, several months back.

 _"She's really important to me," Ghoul said in the memory._ " _With her, I'm not just a creature who munches on Freaks. You see, all my life, I felt like something was missing in my life. She might be that thing I'm missing. She's almost like a. . ."_

 _"Daughter?" Jill finished for her._

 _"Yeah," Ghoul said, her face brightening up._

The memory came to a close and the orb was restored in Long-Term.

"Oh," The emotions all said after a moment of silence.

After a minute of silence, Anger asked, "Well, what are we supposed to do? We're Riley's mother, not her."

"Riley was the one thing that kept her from just being a brain-eating zombie," Sadness pointed out. "We took that from her." She slumped down on the memory console, deep in thought. The others did the same.

After a while, Joy lit up. "Hey, I have an idea!" She said, her glow brightening up the Headquarters.

The other emotions turned to her. "What do you mean?" Disgust asked.

"She said there was empty void in her life," Joy pointed out.

"No she didn't," Fear said.

"More to the point, all we have to do is give her something to fill that void," Joy said. "And we're going to help her!"

The other emotions smiled in hope. "Joy, you're a genius!" Sadness said. Turning to the other emotions, she said, "Come on, let's go find Ghoul!"

* * *

Bill was out in the backward, mowing the lawn, when he heard footsteps coming towards him. Turning around, he saw the Boss approach him.

"Oh, hey Boss," Jill greeted, stopping the lawnmower. "How'd your talk with Arabella go?"

The Boss paused for a moment, then shrugged half-heartedly. "It didn't go well," He admitted, and let out a sigh.

Bill's face fell. "She still hasn't let go of it, huh?" He asked. The Boss nodded.

"Well, how could she?" The Boss asked, throwing out his arms in frustration. "I mean, after what me and my old man did to her? I don't think I'm worthy of her forgiveness."

Bill opened his mouth to offer words of encouragement, then closed it when he realized he had nothing conductive to say. Eventually, he suggested, "My daughter and Arabella are pretty close. Maybe she could say something to her and possibly help her overcome her grudge."

"Yeah, thanks," Boss replied, though he didn't sound particularly confident. Turning around, he began to leave.

After he had left, Bill resumed gardening. As he did, however, he froze, stopping the lawnmower once more and looking around the backyard.

For some reason, he thought he'd heard hissing coming from nearby.

After a few minutes of silence, Bill shrugged it off. "Probably just my imagination," He said, and resumed mowing the lawn.

As he did, he didn't notice several creatures scamper past the fence on all-fours and vanish into the woods nearby.

* * *

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	4. Chapter 4

_Razorback 234: Thanks._

 _Korrasami 88: It's non-canon, I don't do romance, especially between same-sexes, and it comes across as forced._

 _I am a burglar: For what?_

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: Yeah, we don't need a reminder._

 _Js: I thought you (and everyone else) would know already._

 _Antha1: I don't get it._

* * *

Riley met Margaret, or as she liked to call her by her nickname, Meg, at the entrance to the school.

"Hey Riley," The redhead said once they met each other. Riley was relieved to see that Meg's voice sounded exactly like it used to, back when she lived in Minnesota. Not raspy and corpse-like, like an Other.

Then again, Meg _was_ normal now. Her skin had returned to normal, her eyes were fully alive, her back was straightened, and her hair had been pulled back to its frizzy hairdo. There were practically no traces of her former corpse-like state.

"So, you're back to normal?" Riley asked.

"Yeah, it happened about a week ago," Meg said to her. "I'd have told you sooner, but me and my mum were a little occupied with business at home, what with her new job, and getting funding to go to this school-"

"Oh," Riley said, nodding. In hindsight, it did make sense that Meg would get herself cured quicker than the other. . . Others. After all, her mother had made sure to be with Meg so that even after she was infected, she would have enough recollection of her past to not lose her humanity.

"So, it's the first day of school?" Meg said, smiling. "How do you feel?"

Riley shrugged. "It's gonna be weird," She said after a while. "I mean, since a lot of people are still. . . dead."

"Well, not dead," Meg corrected. "Just a different state of being. I was in that state for over a year, longer than you, actually. It's weird; you feel like a different person, but with a former identity strapped onto you as well."

"I know," Riley said. "They called me Yellowjacket, remember?"

Meg nodded. They were interrupted from their conversation when a corpse-like girl shuffled past them. Her skin was gray and clammy, and her eyes looked lost. Riley winced when she saw her; she had seen a lot of Others over the months, and she could tell how close they were to becoming fully cured simply by looking at them. And from the state the girl was in, she definitely had her work cut out for her.

The girl turned to them, her head swinging absentmindedly. "Hey," She rasped out in a voice barely audible.

Riley scratched the nape of her neck, and awkwardly replied, "Hi."

At that moment, the school bell rang, and the girl pointed a rather pointy finger at the building and rasped, "School." She then hobbled over to the building. She was soon followed by a number of other kids, each of them in different states of beings.

Riley and Meg exchanged glances. "At least they don't bite," The former said. Meg nodded, and the two then headed to school.

* * *

In a few minutes, Riley and Meg were seated in class next to each other, along with their classmates. Riley looked around at her half-dead classmates; they all sat in their chairs, as still as a corpse, all of them staring forward with unblinking eyes. A lot of them were breathing heavily, their jaws hanging open. It was in stark contrast to when she'd first arrived in the school, when everyone was always chatting with their friends.

She was snapped out of her thoughts by the teacher striding into the room. She snapped her attention to the front, trying to stay as focused as possible.

"Hello class," The teacher droned in an empty voice as he faced the class. "I am Mr. Hooper. I will be teaching the class today. Does anyone have any questions?"

One boy put up his hand. "What happened to the last teacher who taught here?" He asked.

"She's still recovering from her "disease"," Mr. Hooper replied in an uninterested tone. "Doctors say she got it from a Brazilian helicopter pilot."

An awkward silence followed. Eventually, the teacher said, "Let us start the lesson. I will show you all a chart of the solar system, and run through each planet. You will have to tell me the name of this planet. Let us begin."

Rolling down the chart on the screen, Mr. Hooper first showed a planet with rings around it. "What is this planet called?"

One rather gray-skinned boy put up his hand urgently. "Yes, Jake?" The teacher asked.

"It's name is. . . uh, ring!" The boy blurted out.

". . . No," Mr. Hooper said.

"But, what do you call the things around it?" Jake asked.

"A ring."

"Then I got it correct!" Jake shouted. "Yes!"

Riley sighed, and put up her hand. "It's name is Saturn," She said confidently.

"Correct," Mr. Hooper said in the same tone of voice, and flipped the chart so the next planet was a rusty red one. "What is this planet called?"

As he selected one of the kids, Riley turned to Meg and whispered, "I feel bad for these guys. They're brains aren't working correctly; they're going to flunk every lesson."

"Yeah, but considering the teacher's also an Other, his brain is operating on about the same speed," Meg reassured.

"I'm not infected."

Meg's eyes widened, and the two girls turned to Mr. Hooper, who was staring at them, an emotionless look in his eyes. "What?" Meg asked.

"I'm not infected," Mr. Hooper replied, his tone not changing.

Meg straightened up, an embarrassed look on her face. "Oh," She said, a beat of sweat on her forehead. "Sorry for the confusion. It was just. . . your voice. . ." She stopped talking.

An awkward silence ensued. Eventually, Mr. Hooper said, "Meg, how many planets are in our galaxy?"

". . . That's not one of the questions," Meg said after a long pause. A prickly feeling was crawling up her back.

"It is now," Mr. Hooper drolled out, his tone not changing at all.

Meg gulped.

* * *

"I can't believe I got all the questions wrong!" Meg shouted out during recess afterwards.

Riley patted her shoulder comfortingly. "Hey, you can't get 'em all right," She reassured her. "You'll do better next time, I promise."

The two were snapped out of their thoughts when a basketball was tossed in their direction. The two turned around to see a bunch of Others slowly drag themselves over to catch the ball.

About thirty seconds passed, and Riley sighed. "Let me get this for you," She said, and picked up the ball and tossed it over the Others' heads and back towards the basketball court. The Others slowly turned around, and then began the tedious task of dragging themselves back to the court.

Riley groaned. "You'd think after a few months, people would liven up a bit," She said, slumping her shoulders.

"Hey, you should be happy you managed to get people this far at all," Meg said. "Speaking of which, how come you were the "cure"? You weren't the first 'smart' zombie. Why wasn't it me, or Jordan, or those four college-aged guys who live next door to you?"

"Maybe because I was the only one who actually did something about it," Riley replied, shrugging. "It's not like any of the other "smart" ones decided to put any effort in changing society and all. Including you, no offense."

"None taken," Meg said with a smile.

Riley frowned. "At times, I just wish things would go completely back to normal," She said. "Back when you didn't have to be concerned with whether someone was alive or dead."

Meg nodded understandingly. However, before she could say something, the school bell rang, signalling recess was over.

"Come on," Meg said, walking towards the school. Riley continued, but as she did, she couldn't help but notice how much quicker she and Meg were than the rest of the student body.

* * *

Ghoul lay face-down on her bed, her face buried in her pillow. She'd had a splitting headache ever since she'd gotten home, and it was all centered around one person.

Riley.

 _ **(In Ghoul's Mind)**_

Sadness was at the control panel, crying excessively. "What are we going to do with ourselves?" She cried to the other emotions. "Yellowjacket's with her parents now! We're practically all alone!"

"Hey, that's not true," Joy said, trying to lift her spirit. "We still got Noose, remember."

Sadness paused for a moment, then started crying even more. "We're practically all alone!" She screamed.

"Come on, we all knew this day was coming," Joy said to the other emotions. "We knew Yellow- erm, Riley had to move on with her life eventually. Come on; we're not her parents."

"Yeah, but what are we going to do now?" Fear asked, nervous. "Are we going to have to go back and get a low-paying job at a bar, with drunk guys hitting on us again? No way!"

"Maybe not that," Joy said, shrugging. "But we got to do something to keep our spirits up. After all, with each passing day, we become more alive! When we're fully cured, we're bound to be able to do something!"

"Like work at a bar?" Disgust asked. Joy groaned.

The emotions were snapped out of their bickering by the sound of a door opening. "Quick, someone's coming!" Joy said. "Get ready to respond!"

* * *

Ghoul sprang up out of bed at the sound of the door creaking open. Turning to the door, expecting to see Noose, she was surprised to see Jill at the door instead.

"Jill?" Ghoul asked, sitting up, confused.

"Hi Ghoul," Jill greeted, closing the door behind her. Walking up to the younger woman, she said, "Well, I'll say, it's a fine day outside! Makes you just want to party! Have a blast! Live it up, amirite?"

". . . What?" Ghoul asked.

"There's a place I want to bring you," Jill told her. "A place I think you'll find very fun! Come on, it'll be a blast!"

"You said that already," Ghoul reminded her.

"Come on!" Jill said, taking Ghoul by the wrist and pulling her out of bed and dragging her to the door. The younger woman was miffed, but she shrugged and obliged.

Soon, the two were heading out the house and towards Jill's car for a night out.

* * *

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	5. Chapter 5

_Antha1: Nah, Ghoul's not a murderer anymore._

 _Guest: Gee, thanks, Captain Obvious._

 _MrScourch: Jill isn't Ghoul's mother, though._

 _I am a burglar: Sigh..._

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: Oh, haha._

* * *

When Riley returned home from school in the afternoon, she met her dad, who was sitting at the couch, watching the news.

"Hey Riley," Bill said when he noticed her come in. "How was school?"

Riley gave a half-hearted shrug. "It was fine," She replied, dropping her schoolbag onto the floor. Looking around the room, she asked, "Where's mom?"

"She went to visit Ghoul," Bill answered, flipping through the channels of the television. Riley blinked in confusion; usually, Ghoul was the one who visited the Andersens, not the other way around.

After a moment of silence, Riley then asked, "Anything else interesting?"

"Well. . ." Bill said, pausing for a moment. His eyes shifted in the direction of Arabella's house, and then he remembered what he'd told the Boss earlier. Standing up, he turned to Riley and said, "Yes, there is one thing."

"What?" Riley asked.

"Remember the Boss and Arabella?" Bill asked. When Riley nodded, Bill said, "Well, the Boss has been trying to talk things out with her, but she's still kind of sore and all, and I told him that when you got home, maybe you could-"

"I get it," Riley interrupted, raising her hand to silence him. Letting out a small sigh, she said, "I'll take care of it."

"Thanks, Riley," Bill said. Riley nodded, then turned to head out the door. As she did, she grumbled a bit.

"This is not my idea of a good day," She whispered, frowning.

* * *

When Riley answered the door to her neighbors' house, she was greeted by George.

"Hey George," Riley said, a faux smile on her face. Looking into the living room, she asked, "Where are the others?"

"Rob and Jordan are downstairs," Rob told her. "Mary and Shelley went with Jill. I think they wanted some sort of 'Girls Night Out', or something. What are you doing here?"

"I needed to talk with Arabella," Riley said quickly. "Is she here?"

"Yeah, she's upstairs," George answered, pointing to Arabella's room upstairs. Riley smiled and nodded, then briskly walked into the house. As she headed up the stairs, she could hear low growling coming from Arabella's room.

Riley nearly cursed. She could tell right away that Arabella wasn't in a good mood, and that was _never_ a good time to talk to her.

However, she reminded herself that she was Arabella's "blood sister", and that if Arabella would listen to anyone, it was her. So, she steeled herself to continue to Arabella's room.

Reaching the door, Riley lightly tapped on it, whispering, "Arabella?"

After a moment's pause, Riley heard a low grunt, signalling that she was allowed entrance. Slowly, she pushed the door open to see Arabella lying face-down on the bed, her face buried in the pillow. She was totally still, the only hint to her being alive being the low rumbling sounds she was emitting from her throat.

Riley gulped, and slowly walked into the room. Striding past the bed, Riley knelt down to Arabella and whispered, "So, my dad told me you and the Boss haven't been getting along. Wanna talk about it?"

Arabella responded by grumbling bitterly.

"Is that a yes or no?" Riley asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion. She was met with more grumbling.

Riley sighed; she wasn't scared, just annoyed that Arabella was refusing to talk to her. "Calm on, Arabella," Riley said, taking a step closer. "I don't speak zombie."

"You used to," Arabella grumbled, her voice muffled by the pillow.

"Yeah, but I'm cured now," Riley said. "You're still on your way there."

"I wouldn't even have to take the journey if it weren't for _him_ ," Arabella whispered, growling as she referred to the Boss.

"Look, Arabella, I know what happened to you was awful," Riley said, extending a hand forward. "But you can't keep wallowing in the past. If you do, you'll never truly be cured on the inside, even if you are on the outside."

Arabella rolled away from Riley's hand, facing away from her blood sister. She folded her arms and pouted to herself.

Riley groaned. "You're not making this easy, Arabella," She pointed out.

"When have things ever been easy for me?" Arabella asked.

"Things weren't easy for me, either," Riley retorted, raising her voice ever so slightly. "You weren't the only person who got turned into a zombie. I mean, I spent a year as a mindless Other, thinking my parents were gone for good and that I'd never find them."

"At least you _had_ parents to find," Arabella snapped at her.

"Don't talk to me like that," Riley started, but was interrupted by Arabella.

"Riley?" She said, standing up and finally facing Riley. "Imagine being treated as a lab experiment by two crazy men. The agony of it all, to be a guinea pig to find a cure for a virus, when a cure already exists! And in the process, create an even _worse_ virus, that nearly wipes out the country. And throughout it all, you're still be hunted down like an escaped animal, spending every day having to look over your shoulder because you know that these strange men are trying to hunt you down so they can continue trying to find a cure for the disease _they_ created! And after all of that is over, I'm supposed to just forget all that happened and become buddies with that man? Is that what you're asking of me?"

Riley opened her mouth to retort, but no words came out. She paused for a few moments, trying to think up a response, but she could find none. After an awkward silence, she bit her lip and looked to the side, somewhat embarrassed.

Arabella humphed. "That's what I thought," She grumbled. Slumping down on the bed, she then said, "Now get out of my room." She buried her face in the pillow once more.

Riley stared at her, sighing deeply. As much as she wanted to, she knew she couldn't stay and continue to talk things out; Arabella clearly did not intend to continue the conversation.

After a moment's pause, Riley turned and left the room, closing the door behind her and wondering just what the future held for her blood sister.

* * *

"So, Jill, how am I supposed to have a blast here?!" Ghoul shouted to Jill as the two, joined by Mary and Shelley, stood in the middle of a crowd at a band concert for AC/DC. The crowd, comprised mainly of Freaks, were cheering loudly and dancing as the band played heavy music for them.

"Just have fun!" Jill shouted back amid the sound of the cheering and the band playing. "I haven't been in at a concert in years!"

Ghoul's face scrunched up as she stared at Jill uncomfortably. Unexpectedly, Mary and Shelley lightly pushed past Ghoul to get a better look at the band.

"Wow!" Mary shouted, cupping her hands on her cheeks. "I've never been in a concert before!" She paused for a moment, then turned to Jill and said, "What do we do?"

"What teenage girls do, I guess," Jill replied. "Dance and enjoy yourselves!"

"Oh!" Mary said, nodding. Immediately, she and Shelley began dancing to the rhythm of the band's music, along with the rest of the crowd.

Ghoul stared at them, rubbing her shoulders, still unsure. Jill, noticing her insecurity, gave her a slight bump with her hip. "Come on, just dance!" She told the younger woman, and started dancing to the music.

Ghoul, mainly to humor Jill, started rocking back and forth in a slight rhythm, not dancing but not standing fully still though, either. As she did, however, she couldn't help but continue to think of Riley.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she accidentally bumped into another woman, causing her to stumble into her boyfriend. "Oops, sorry," She said, inching closer to Jill.

"Get away from us, freak!" The boyfriend shouted at Ghoul, and he and his girlfriend moved away from Ghoul. A few members of the crowd did the same, causing Ghoul's face to fall.

"I need to go outside," Ghoul told Jill, her face going red with embarrassment. "Can I be excused?"

"But we just got here," Jill said, frowning. Ghoul gave her a begging face, and the older woman sighed and nodded.

Ghoul immediately pushed her way through the crowd, trying to reach the exit door. Once she did, she nearly dove out of the door before slamming it shut behind her. She then leaned against the door, breathing heavily.

"What was I thinking?" Ghoul asked, rubbing her forehead. "I know I don't do well in crowds. . ." She slammed the back of her head against the door in frustration.

"I should just go," Ghoul mumbled, sliding down on the wall. As she did, she turned her head and noticed a couple, obviously drunk, exit the door and walk into an alleyway with each other. Ghoul watched as the two started kissing each other in the alleyway, oblivious to the fact that they were being watched.

Ghoul rolled her eyes. "Kids these days," She mumbled. She was about to turn and re-enter the concert building when, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed several dark figures scramble past the building and towards the alleyway, towards the couple.

"What the. . ." Ghoul whispered, pressing herself against the building and watching. She hardly had time to register things when the creatures struck.

Ghoul could only watch in horror as the creatures pounced out of the darkness towards the couple, resembling demons crawling out of the empty abyss. They took the couple by surprise, snatching them in their giant claws before they could scream. The couple tried to struggle, but the creatures were too strong. Several more creatures rushed out of the darkness and grabbed hold of the two, before dragging them into the darkness.

Ghoul watched the whole event unfold, a look of absolute terror on her face. For a moment, she wondered if she had truly seen what she thought she had.

"No, it can't be," She whispered in fragile denial. "They were all killed. . ."

However, the piercing cry of the woman coming from the darkness shattered her illusion of denial, followed by a sickening crunching sound. Ghoul nearly retched when she heard it.

As she continued to stare into the darkness, she could just barely make out several dark creatures dash out from the abyss and into another section of the city.

Then, they vanished.

* * *

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	6. Chapter 6

_Al Drin Hoshizora: Sure._

 _I am a burglar: Sigh..._

 _Guest: Thanks._

 _Antha1: I had no idea, either._

* * *

The following morning, the couple was found. Or at least, what remained of them.

After Ghoul told Jill and the others about what had happened in the alley, the entire crowd went into a frenzy. Many of them fled the concert for fear of the ferals still being in the area, while others went to try and find the missing couple. Jill, Ghoul, Mary and Shelley were among those who chose to stay.

It took until morning, but eventually, the bodies of the missing couple were reported to have been discovered in a ditch not too far away from the concert. Immediately, the developing police force arrived to take the bodies away, and a large crowd gathered to observe the bodies.

Many people screamed in horror when they saw the corpses being loaded onto a stretcher. To say they were mangled would be an understatement; the bodies were borderline unrecognizable, such was their mutilation.

Jill was in the front of the crowd, watching as the bodies were loaded away, an uncomfortable look on her face. Unexpectedly, she heard a familiar voice behind her say, "Mom?"

Jill turned around to see Riley and Bill push their way through the crowd. "We heard what happened?" Riley told her.

Watching as the bodies were taken into the back of an ambulance, Bill asked, "So, what happened?"

Jill shrugged. "Ghoul told me that something snatched the couple into the darkness," She told them, rubbing the back of her head.

"What was it?" Riley asked, concerned.

"She didn't say," Jill told them. "My guess was that it was some wild animal, but Ghoul didn't want to tell us. She was pretty shaken up about it, so I didn't press her."

Riley wrung her hands, worried. As she stared at the bodies being loaded into the ambulance, she wondered what creature could be responsible for such horror. And the creature was still at large.

There was no telling when it would strike again.

* * *

Back at her apartment, Ghoul was flipping through the television, dressed in her pajamas. She was watching the news broadcast of the scene at the ditch, where the bodies had been found and were currently being taken away in the ambulance.

Ghoul was biting her teeth nervously. A wave of horrific thoughts entered her mind as she struggled to comprehend what she had seen that night.

The ferals were still around? How could that be? She thought they had either been rounded up or exterminated at the battle at the Hideout. She didn't want to believe that some of them were still lurking in the city, preying on innocents...

She froze as she noticed something on the television. There, standing in the crowd wearing a yellow jacket, was Riley, her parents standing next to her.

A crippling feeling arose within Ghoul. If the ferals were still around, what were the chances that they might come for Riley? After all, she had been the one who killed their leader, Sawbones. As this dark thought entered her mind, sweat began dripping from her forehead.

She recoiled when the opened, and she briefly extended her claws to defend herself, only to calm down when she saw who it was.

"Oh, hey Noose," Ghoul said as her slightly overweight roommate entered the room. "How did that job interview go?"

"I think I might have a chance," Noose told her.

Noose had been recovering at a slightly faster pace than Ghoul; then again, even as an Other, he'd never been quite as corpse-like. The only thing zombie-like about him was that his teeth and fingers were still rather sharp. But his skin and eyes had returned to normal.

"So, I heard about what happened last night," He said to Ghoul, flopping down on the couch next to her, causing Ghoul to bounce in the air slightly. "So, what happened?"

"A couple got attacked," Ghoul said, repeating what she'd told everyone else. She didn't elaborate, though.

"I know that," Noose told her. "But why _what_?"

"I. . . don't want to say," Ghoul said, still unnerved. She rubbed her arm uncomfortably.

Noose narrowed his eyes. "Ghoul, are you hiding something?" He asked.

"No," Ghoul said automatically, trying to avoid Noose's stare. However, she could feel his glare on him, even as she was looking away from him.

"Ghoul," Noose said after a tense silence, and Ghoul finally broke down.

"Okay, they were attacked by. . . ferals," She confessed.

Noose let out a horrified gasp. "Ferals?!" He shouted, jumping off the couch. "But they were all killed! We were there."

"Well I don't think we got all of them," Ghoul said, wringing her hands fearfully. "There were hundreds of them, remember? Some of them were bound to have slipped away."

"But how many of them?" Noose questioned. "And where are they hiding? They could be spread across the city, for all we know."

"Well, what can we do about it," Ghoul asked.

"We have to tell the others," Noose said, turning to leave.

"Wait!" Ghoul said, rising up from the couch. "What if we cause a panic? The Freaks, I mean the normal people, will totally freak out! Can you imagine how that's going to look for the ones were are healing, like us?"

"It doesn't matter," Noose told her. "They're going to find out eventually. Better sooner than later." With that, he put on his hat and walked out of the room, leaving Ghoul alone.

Ghoul groaned, and sunk back into the couch.

Suddenly, healing had gotten a whole lot harder.

* * *

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	7. Chapter 7

_Al Drin Hoshizora: I thought I explained that last chapter._

 _I am a burglar: Why?_

 _Razorback 234: Meh._

 _Korrasami 88: No, zombie ferals._

 _Antha1: Yep, a drop from a building is definitely survivable._

* * *

The news of the survival of the ferals spread through San Francisco like wildfire.

Noose had gone up to the police station immediately and told the officers that the culprits behind the murder of the couple were none other than the same ferals everyone thought had been vanquished months ago. In turn, this news was released to the public.

The city went into panic almost instantaneously.

Though the Andersens tried to calm everyone by reminding them that the majority of the ferals had been killed, it did not matter much. The only thing that mattered to the majority was that the one thing keeping the city from fully recovering was still out there, somewhere. And worst of all, nobody knew where they were.

Within days, much of the streets had become vacant. Many people had chosen to lock themselves up in their houses rather than go outside, for fear of encountering any ferals and suffering the same fate as the young couple several nights ago. Meanwhile, the same men who had worked for the Boss during the apocalyptic days scoured the city in search of the feral zombies. Alas, they had no such luck.

For days, things went on like this.

And throughout it all, no ferals were seen throughout the city.

* * *

Arabella was curled up on her bed, scraping at her covers with her long claws. Her eyes were dark and cloudy, her mind still in turmoil after the revelation that the feral zombies were still lurking about.

She wondered to herself what this meant for the Others. If the Freaks were afraid of the ferals, would this soon expand to fearing Others in general? And what of her? After all, some would say she was just as 'feral' as the feral zombies themselves.

She was the progenitor, after all.

Arabella's eyes widened as the door creaked open, and a familiar scent entered the room, one that filled her with ire.

 _"Boss,"_ She growled under her breath. As she spoke his name, she gripped the bed covers so tight she tore holes into them. She turned around to glare at the man as he entered.

The Boss already looked unnerved at entering her room. His look of anxiety increased when he saw the blazing look of hatred in her half-dead eyes.

"Why are you here?" She hissed at him.

The Boss, in spite of his transparent discomfort, spoke. "Okay, it's been a few days," He said to her. "And my men are turning up no results in finding these ferals."

"So?" Arabella asked, turning up her nose. "What does that have to do with me?"

"The guys are getting desperate," The Boss explained. "So, some of them have been saying that if we're going to catch a feral, we may need. . . need a-"

"-A feral?" Arabella finished for him, turning to look at him.

"Yeah, that," The Boss said, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "They pointed out how you managed to evade us for so long. . ."

"Oh, good to see everyone still thinks I'm a feral," Arabella sneered, standing up on her bed and clenching her fists. Her eyes narrowed at the Boss, boring into his soul.

"Arabella, it's not like that," The Boss said, hoping to calm the angered girl. "It's just. . . the men think you'd be able to get into the minds of these. . . Others more efficiently, to help track them down."

Arabella grumbled, her stare icy.

The Boss decided to try a new tactic. "Arabella, think of her friends," He told her. "Think of Riley. Do you really want them to live in a city with these ferals looking about, ready to strike? If we can find out where they're hiding, no one will have to live in that sort of city. Arabella, I'm begging you."

Arabella closed her eyes for a moment, as if trying to think. Opening them, she said, "I like hearing you beg. Do it again."

The Boss sighed, rolling his eyes. "Arabella, I beg of you, please help us," He said in an irritated tone.

Arabella raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips, her arms folded. The Boss tensed his muscles, steeling himself for the inevitable rejection.

"Alright."

The Boss's eyes widened as he heard Arabella's reply. "What?"

"I'll help you," Arabella said to him, hopping off the bed. "Not for you, though. For Riley's sake."

The Boss let out a relieved sigh. He couldn't believe he had managed to pull it off.

"Come on, let's not waste time," Arabella said to him, pushing past him. "We got a clan of ferals to find. We don't have all day."

* * *

Riley was sitting at her table, eating breakfast. Her eyes were heavy-lidded, for she hadn't gotten much sleep for the past few days. The only thing on her mind was the feral zombies, and what their survival meant for San Francisco.

 _ **(In Riley's Mind)**_

"Guys, this is terrible!" Fear said in a panicky tone. "We're all going to die!"

"Now calm down, Fear," Joy reassured the purple emotion. "Everyone, we shouldn't be surprised. We should've expected this."

"Yeah, I mean, it's not like we could've been sure we got all of the ferals that night," Sadness agreed. "After we killed Sawbones, the ferals just. . . dispersed. We got most of them, but we couldn't have gotten all of them."

"Gee, that makes things so much better," Disgust said, rolling her eyes. "Now there's a horde of ferals out there who want to eat us!"

"And after we put so much effort into changing society!" Anger said, slamming his fist on the console. "That makes me so angry!

Joy, always the optimist, chimed in, saying, "Guys, guys, relax. We have changed society! The ferals are a minority, remember?"

The other emotions grumbled slightly. "Yeah, but we still have no idea where they're hiding," Disgust pointed out. "What if they manage to infect more people?"

"We beat 'em once," Joy reminded them with a smile. "We can do it again."

* * *

Riley was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard Jill call out, "Riley!"

"Yes mom!" She said quickly, eating her cereal quickly. She turned around to see Jill walking down the stairs, carrying Riley's schoolbag.

"So, it's been a few days," Jill said to her daughter when she reached the table. "And I feel it's time you go back to school." She set the schoolbag down next to Riley.

Riley's eyes widened. "Really?" She asked, surprised. "But, the ferals-"

"I know," Jill said to her. "But they haven't been seen in days, and I feel like we shouldn't let a few rogues keep us scared. I mean, locking ourselves up in our houses, looking behind your back every second. . . that's exactly what those ferals want. So let's show them that we're not going to let them control our lives, Riley."

Riley stared at her mother for a moment, conflicted. Then, she smiled and sprang up from her chair, hugging her mom. "Thanks, mom!"

Jill ruffled Riley's hair. "Now go brush your teeth and wash your face," She instructed her. "You don't want to look like a corpse when you get to school."

Riley shook her head. "Alright!" She said, and rushed up the stairs, ready to start few first day of school once more after several days of abstaining.

* * *

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	8. Chapter 8

_Al Drin Hoshizora: Envy? When did you show up?_

 _I am a burglar: You don't have to be a jerk._

 _Gloyd Orangeboar: That was established since chapter 1._

 _Antha1: Well then, guess you'll be happy about what happens in this chapter._

* * *

After brushing her teeth and combing her hair, Riley set off out of the house and in the direction of the school, kissing her mother goodbye on the way.

"I'll be home before you know it, mom!" She called out to Jill, who waved to her from the door.

"Have a good day, Riley!" Jill replied.

As Riley turned and walked down the street, though, her outer exterior of confidence was struck with a twinge of uncertainty. Her smile turned to a frown as she walked away from her home, and for the first time, she felt like she was alone.

The streets were vacant, with most of the neighborhood holed up in their houses. Aside from her own footsteps, there was no other sound on the streets, no indication there was a soul outside save for herself. It made Riley feel insecure.

The farther she got from her home, the more she began to wonder if the ferals really were as vacant as they appeared. She could almost feel as if there were cold, soulless eyes watching her as she continued to walk.

Suddenly, Riley stopped and whirled around. She hadn't heard or seen anything, but for some reason, she thought that something had been watching her. However, just like before, she saw nothing.

"Come on, Riley," The blonde said to herself. "You're just seeing things. There aren't that many ferals in the city, and even if there are some around, they couldn't be a threat to San Fransisco. They'd have to spread out too much."

Taking a deep breath and collecting her courage, Riley continued walking.

As she did, however, she didn't notice a tall, lanky figure peer out from the bushes, watching the young girl as she walked down the sidewalk. The creature's lips peeled back, revealing rotting fangs.

 _"Yellowjacket."_

* * *

Ghoul lay on her couch, flipping through a novel. Noose had gone out for another interview, leaving her alone to pass the time.

As she continued to read the book, she thought she smelled something on the sidewalk, passing by. As the smell got closer, Ghoul began to recognize it, and her eyes widened.

"Riley?!" She shouted, dropping the book and scrambling to the window. Looking down, her jaw dropped when she saw none other than Riley Andersen, skipping down the sidewalk, carrying a schoolbag.

Ghoul's skin became paler than it already was. Her jaw simply hung open as her eyes followed Riley as she passed by the apartment, totally oblivious that she was being watched. Eventually, she left Ghoul's view, vanishing down the street.

For several moments, Ghoul simply stood frozen at the window, her mouth hanging open as she tried to comprehend what she had just seen. After taking a few moments to do so, she promptly dashed back into the room, grabbed her phone, and dialed in the Andersen's home number.

She stood there for a few moments, the phone to her ear, tapping her foot impatiently. "Come on, pick up, pick up!" She snarled.

Eventually, she heard Jill's voice say, "Yes, who is it?"

"Jill!" Ghoul shouted into the phone, a bit louder than she intended.

There was a long pause on the other end, and finally, Jill responded, in a rather startled tone, "G-Ghoul?"

"I just saw your daughter walking down the sidewalk!" Ghoul said in an irritated tone. "What the heck do you think you're doing, sending your daughter to school in a time of social strife?!"

"Ghoul, calm down," Jill said. "There hasn't been any incidents these past several days. I think everyone's being more scared than they need to be."

"Oh no they're not!" Ghoul shouted. "Just because nothing's happened for a few days, doesn't mean it will never happen. I'd rather be safe than sorry."

"Ghoul-"

"I'm a zombie, Jill!" Ghoul shouted into the phone. "I know how they think. To lure their victims into a false sense of security, make them feel like they're safe, then pounce on them when they least expect it! That was how I got turned! And Noose, even Riley."

There was another long pause on the other end of the phone. Finally, Jill said, in a softer tone, "I hope she'll be safe."

"Well I'm not going to hope!" Ghoul snapped. Without even giving Jill a chance to respond, Ghoul promptly ended the conversation and hung up the phone, seething.

"I'm not losing you again, Riley," She said, narrowing her eyes.

* * *

"Mommy, why is there a creepy lady watching the children on the playground?"

Ghoul tried to ignore the bystanders staring at her as she sat on the bench, watching Riley as she wandered across the playground. Immediately after her phone call with Jill, she'd driven all the way to the school and had spent the past hour or two simply. . . watching. First, she'd been watching from behind a tree, then through the fence, and now at the playground.

Ghoul was well aware that the other people nearby thought it weird, watching an Other staring at the children at school, especially the young blonde girl with the yellow jacket. However, she didn't care; she just wanted to make sure Riley was safe. At the same time, though, she didn't want Riley to be too suspicious of her.

However, her wish wasn't being granted.

"Riley, why is your babysitter watching you by the bench?" Meg asked Riley as the two played hopscotch.

Riley shrugged at her friend. She'd been aware of Ghoul ever since she'd shown up at school, but had pretended not to notice. However, she was getting more weird out as every hour passed and Ghoul didn't leave.

Riley eventually turned to look at Ghoul. Immediately, the Other turned her head away from her, whistling a jaunty tune. Riley squinted her eyes, then turned back to Meg.

Riley looked around the playground. There were far less people than normal; she thought she'd seen only a few dozen children at school tops. Several teachers hadn't been present, either.

"I don't know why everyone's so freaked out," Meg suddenly said to Riley. "I mean, there were hundreds of ferals several months ago; nobody reacted like this. Now, just a couple have been seen, and everyone's scared."

"I guess this is just another sign the world's becoming more human," Riley mumbled. At this point, she'd partially forgotten Ghoul was still nearby.

Ghoul continued to watch Riley, half-asleep. The past few hours had been immensely boring; though, she reminded herself that nothing bad happening was a good sign.

She was temporarily distracted when a young toddler began walking past her legs. The boy paused when he looked up at her, and his eyes widened when he saw the Other staring down at him. He froze in his tracks, his mouth hanging open.

"Victor, get away from her!" The boy's mother said, running up and scooping the boy up in her arms. She turned to stare at Ghoul, then stormed off.

Ghoul watched her leave, and let out a sigh. However, her eyes squinted when she noticed a strange man standing motionless as the woman passed by him. He was wearing a trench coat and a large hat concealing his face, but there was a shadowy look in his eyes.

Ghoul couldn't help but notice that the man was also watching Riley. She narrowed her eyes at him, suspicious.

Suddenly, Ghoul felt, more certain than ever, that coming to the school had been the correct choice.

* * *

As school ended and the children left with their parents, Ghoul noticed that the man was still there, continuing to watch Riley. A tense feeling was welling up in the pit of her stomach.

Riley had stayed behind longer than usual, chatting with Meg about something. As she did, the man began to approach the two girls.

Ghoul snapped to attention as she watched the man shamble over to Riley. Maternal instincts got the better of her, and Ghoul began to walk at a fast pace towards the man as he approached the girls.

By now, Riley had noticed the man coming close to her, and she stopped talking with Meg and turned towards the man. She froze up as the rather tall man, evidently an Other, closed in on her.

Riley began to feel a prickly feeling crawl up her spine as the man stopped walking, now standing right in front of her. She scarcely noticed Ghoul approaching as well.

"Are you Riley Andersen?" The man whispered in a raspy tone, pointing a clawed finger at her.

Riley gulped, but found the courage to reply with, "Yes."

The man raised his clawed hand into the air over Riley's head. The blonde's eyes widened in fear, and she felt Meg grab hold of her arm, herself shaking frigidly. Close by, Ghoul had picked up a large branch and was storming over to the man, ready to use the weapon if he dared harm Riley.

Finally, the man spoke. "Thank you," He said to her.

Riley blinked in confusion. "W-What?" She asked. Nearby, Ghoul froze, holding the branch in midair, her eyes wide with shock.

"Thank you, Riley Andersen!" The man said, shaking Riley's arm. "Thanks to you, this city's on its way to being cured. I was just a mindless zombie several months ago, but you fixed that! Now, me, my wife, and my daughter are practically human!"

". . . Oh," Riley said, silently relieved. "Um, good day, sir."

The man turned and strode off, whistling a jaunty tune as he left the park. As he did, he passed by Ghoul and said, "Nice make-up."

Ghoul simply stood there, rather embarrassed at how quickly she'd jumped to conclusions. Dropping the tree branch, she shook her head. "What the heck is wrong with me?" She asked. "I'm just being paranoid."

Turning around, Ghoul began to head towards her car. "This has just been a waste of time," She mumbled to herself. "Maybe Jill was right."

Right when she was about to enter the car, though, Ghoul heard a shrill scream coming from the playground.

Riley's scream.

* * *

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	9. Chapter 9

_Al Drin Hoshizora: I was actually going to do that, but then I decided it would be too obvious._

 _I am a burglar: Sigh..._

* * *

A few minutes ago, Riley and Meg had been leaving the park, chatting over the encounter with the strange Other.

"Gosh, that was weird," Riley said, zipping up her jacket and scratching the back of her head.

"Not as weird as Ghoul trying to whack him with that branch," Meg replied, jokingly poking Riley in the arm.

"Shut up," Riley said, half-joking and half-serious. She gave Meg a playful shove, and the two started laughing. As they did, however, Riley noticed a shadow following behind them.

For a moment, Riley thought either the man or Ghoul had returned, and she was about to turn around when she heard a raspy voice whisper, _"Yellowjacket."_

Riley's heart stopped. She could feel her blood run cold as she realized that wasn't the voice of a healing Other. It was the voice of a creature long beyond that stage.

The girl didn't even have time to turn around when she was violently shoved onto the ground. Landing on the rough ground, Riley looked up and let out a scream as she found herself staring up at a feral zombie, a different one from the man she'd encountered minutes ago. The creature stared at her with animalistic, hungry eyes, his fanged teeth gnashing together.

"Riley!" Meg cried out in horror. The feral whipped his head in her direction, and with a single swat of his arm, he sent the tiny Meg flying. She landed on the ground as well, her head bouncing on the ground. Then, her body became still.

"Meg!" Riley cried, and started scrambling towards her unconscious friend. However, the feral latched onto her ankle and dragged her back. Then, he grabbed her by the throat and pinned her to the ground.

Riley kicked and thrashed in the feral's grip, but he was too strong.

The feral glared down at her. _"Yellowjacket,"_ He croaked out through drooling jaws.

A horrifying realization set in as Riley came to realize that the ferals indeed recognized her. Her panic increased as the feral opened his gaping jaws and closed in, whether to infect her or to kill her. She continued struggling, but it was no use. She was totally helpless before the feral.

"Riley!"

What happened next was a flash. There was a blue of black and white, and suddenly, the feral was no longer on top of her. Riley instantly sprang upwards, her head darting to the right. There, she saw the feral, sprawled on the ground. And on top of him was Ghoul.

There was a look of pure and unadulterated rage on Ghoul's face that Riley had never seen before. She pinned the feral to the ground, her teeth bared and her muscles tensed, staring down at the creature with flaming eyes.

The feral hissed and snapped at Ghoul, struggling to throw her off of him. However, Ghoul kept the feral pinned down, pressing her forearm against his throat, constricting his breathing. Her other arm was raised, her claws out.

Quickly, Ghoul began thrashing the feral with her claws. She slashed at his face at a rapid pace, drawing blood and leaving claw marks. The feral quickly panicked and began thrashing himself. It was a futile effort, though; Ghoul was an Other, so she could not be infected.

With a growl, Ghoul grabbed the feral's head and slammed it against the ground. The force of the blow knocked him out instantly. The feral's body went limp, and he collapsed.

Ghoul lay on top of the feral, her breathing haggard. Her hair was falling over her face, and sweat was dripping down her forehead. Riley stared at her, frozen in place. She was distracted when she heard Meg groaning, and she rushed over to her.

"Margaret!" She cried, using Meg's full name. She wrapped her arms around her friend and pulled her up. Meg's eyes were closed, her body limp. The force of the blow against her head had injured her severely.

Nearby, Ghoul finally got up. She stormed towards the two girls, a stony look in her eyes. "Let's go," She said, a twinge of anger in her voice. She took Meg in her arm and lifted her up. With the other arm, she grabbed Riley by the wrist and dragged her over to her car.

"Get in," Ghoul ordered. Riley was about to protest, stating she had to get home, but she realized Ghoul wasn't in the mood for an argument. She shut her mouth and got into the backseat of the car.

Ghoul, her face still hard, rested Meg in the backseat next to Riley. Then, she got into the driver's seat of the car. Riley could hear her grumbling under her breath as she started the engines.

Then, she drove out of the parking lot and out onto the streets.

* * *

Jill was sitting on her couch, chewing on her nails in anxiety. After her conversation with Ghoul over the phone, she hadn't moved from the couch. She couldn't shake the thought that maybe, Ghoul had been right.

She knew school had ended now, and she was just counting down the minutes until Riley returned. After that, she had made the decision not to let her go to school for the rest of the week, at least.

She was snapped back to attention when she heard the phone ring. Scrambling to her feet, she rushed to the phone and picked it up. She noticed Ghoul's number on it, and immediately, she started getting a bad feeling about what the other woman had to say.

Picking up the phone, Jill answered it. "Yes?" She asked.

The reply made Jill jump. "I hope you have something to say for yourself, woman!" Ghoul screamed on the other end of the phone. Jill could tell that the younger woman was outraged.

"W-What happened?" She asked.

"Your daughter was attacked by a feral at school!" Ghoul shouted at her.

Jill's heart nearly tore itself out of her chest. _"What?!"_ She screamed in horror. "Is she-"

"She's alright," Ghoul said, her voice slightly calming down. "I was able to get there before she got seriously hurt. But her friend. . . Meg, I think. . . she's unconscious."

"Where's Riley now?" Jill asked, concerned.

"She's in the car with me," Ghoul said. "I'm taking Meg to the hospital, and then I'm calling the police."

Jill lightly banged her head against the wall, groaning. "Look, I'm really sorry," She said. "I didn't know-"

"Know what?" Ghoul asked, her anger rising. "That there were ferals lurking about? That they know how your daughter looks like? Sawbones has taken Riley to see them in the past, remember?"

Jill groaned once more, but said nothing.

"Look, Jill," Ghoul said, clearly trying to restrain herself from shouting. "I'm going to be looking after your daughter for the time being. She's not leaving my sight, understand?"

"Uh-huh," Jill said, rubbing her forehead. "I really am sorry, Ghoul. I just. . . I just wanted my daughter to live a normal life."

There was a pause on the other end. Finally, Ghoul said, "Well here's the cold, honest truth: _She can't_."

Jill heard a dial tone, indicating that Ghoul had ended the conversation. The moment she had, Jill slammed the phone down and slid down against the wall, slumping onto the ground and burying her face in her hands.

"What have I done?" She asked.

* * *

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	10. Chapter 10

_I am a burglar: Yeah, you better..._

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: Well, Ghoul wasn't exactly wrong to be worried._

 _Razorback 234: Great._

 _Antha1: Oh come on, don't be too hard on Jill. After all, she. . . um. . . never mind._

* * *

Arabella stalked down the empty streets surrounding the Boss' former hideout. Behind her, the Boss and several of his men trailed closely behind in large green trucks, weapons prepared.

The Boss had decided to check the hideout base first, since that was where most of the Freaks had been first eradicated. Much of the hideout, as well as the surrounding areas, had been left heavily damaged after the massive fight that had broken out months ago, and thus, the area had been mostly abandoned, with the Freaks having moved back into their original homes now that the Others were no longer a threat. This, as the Boss had reasoned, could've given the ferals the opportunity to hide in the area.

"Have you found anything?" The Boss called out to Arabella from within the truck. The young Other was currently on all fours, sniffing the air while trying to catch the scent of any ferals that would be hiding nearby.

"It's. . . complicated," She replied to the Boss, standing on her feet. "Yeah, I'm getting the scent of the ferals, but it's mixed with the scent of regular Others, and Freaks who were passing by."

"Blast it!" The Boss said in frustration, slamming his fist on the steering wheel.

"Hey, this place was home to thousands of people for nearly a year," Arabella pointed out. "That scent doesn't just go away overnight."

"You would've thought it have left after several months, though," The Boss grumbled.

Next to him, Bill was sitting in the passengers seat, half-awake and half-asleep. Since he'd had nothing better to do for the day, he'd decided to accompany the Boss in their search, though he'd secretly doubted they'd turn up any results. Currently, he was occupied thinking of the upcoming Super Bowl.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when the phone rang. Taking it out of his pocket, he found it was Jill.

Confused as to why she would call him at this time, he picked up the phone and said, "Yes, honey?"

"Riley got attacked by a feral," He heard Jill say on the other line.

Bill's eyes went wide. "What?!" He shouted, much louder than he'd intended. The Boss, who had been driving, accidentally swerved the truck before coming to a stop.

"Bill, what was that about?" He asked, confused, though Bill was too distracted by what ill had said to notice.

"Don't worry, she's okay," Jill said to him. "Ghoul saved her. But Meg was hurt, and she's being taken to the hospital."

Bill, calmed down now that he knew Riley was safe, asked, "Where did this happen?"

"At the school," Jill said.

"The school!" Bill exclaimed, looking up. "Thank you, honey!" With that, he ended the phone call.

Giving the Boss a nudge, Bill said, "That was my wife. She told me an attack had happened at our daughter's school. It was from a feral."

The Boss' eyes went wide, and he turned to Arabella, who was still searching the streets. "Arabella!" He shouted to her, and the young Other turned to face him, an exasperated look on her face.

"What?" She asked, annoyed.

"Get in the truck!" The Boss commanded. "We're going to school!"

"Oh, joy," Arabella muttered, rolling her eyes. Nevertheless, she walked over to the truck and hopped into the back with the men. Then, the trucks turned down the street and began to drive towards the school.

* * *

After dropping Meg off at the hospital, Ghoul had driven back to her apartment. Noose's car was in the parking lot, signalling that he had gotten home from his interview.

"Get out," She said to Riley. The blonde nodded and got out of the car hesitantly. Ghoul did the same, slamming the car door roughly. Then, she took Riley by the wrist and led her to the apartment door. Opening it, she walked Riley up the stairs.

Riley gulped. She could tell that Ghoul was mad. "Um, you and mom were on the phone," She recalled.

Ghoul nodding her head slightly signaled for Riley to continue. "Well, how long am I going to be with you?" Riley asked, scratching the back of her head.

"Until it's absolutely safe," Ghoul replied. She led Riley up the stairs to her floor. Once they were at her floor, she knocked on her door.

The door creaked open, revealing Noose in his pajamas. "So, Ghoul, my interview went-" The chubby, middle-aged Other paused when he saw Riley standing next to Ghoul, shuffling her feet awkwardly.

Turning to Ghoul, he said, "I hope you have an explanation for this."

Ghoul pouted. "Just let us in," She demanded.

* * *

A couple hours later, Riley was lying in Ghoul's bed, staring up at the ceiling blankly. She could hear Ghoul and Noose still bickering with each other in the living room.

"That girl's mother is totally irresponsible!" Ghoul was shouting, letting out her pent-up feelings to her roommate. "How could she send Riley to school unsupervised at a time like this?!"

"Now Ghoul, calm down," Noose replied. "Riley is thirteen; she's a big girl. Jill can't be babying her all the time."

"But she's supposed to keep her safe!" Ghoul shouted back. "That's what mothers do!"

"Well you can't shelter a teenage girl," Noose pointed out.

"That's not sheltering, it's common sense!" Ghoul screamed, stamping her foot.

At that point, a voice from the room next to Ghoul and Noose's called out, "Hey, could you keep it down in there? I'm trying to sleep."

There was an awkward silence, and Ghoul said, "Sorry."

Turning back to Noose, she then said, in a hushed voice, "Seriously, though, Riley needs us now. We were the ones who looked out for her during the apocalypse. Now we have to look out for her in the _post-_ apocalypse."

Noose let out a sigh. "Alright, but so long as her parents are fine with it," He said.

In the bedroom, Riley had been listening in on the conversation. She let out a deep sigh.

As she drifted off to sleep, she could tell immediately that her life had gotten much more complicated.

* * *

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	11. Chapter 11

_Al Drin Hoshizora: Yeah, sure thing._

 _I am a burglar: Great._

 _Antha1: He's dead._

 _Js: Thank you._

* * *

When the Boss and his men, along with Bill and Arabella, arrived at Riley's school, they found no sign of the feral on school grounds.

The Boss got out of the truck and inspected the area. "Dammit!" He shouted after a quick search. "The thing is long gone by now!"

Arabella hopped out of the truck after the Boss, walking towards him. She was about to snipe at him for wasting their time, but she stopped when she caught the scent of something.

"Hey. . ." She whispered, her eyes widening. She sniffed the air a few more times, and said, "I think I'm picking up on something."

"Really?" The Boss asked, turning to look down at his young partner of sorts. There was a hopeful look in his eyes.

"Yeah, it smells like. . . rotting flesh," Arabella said, pinching her nose in disgust. "And decaying teeth. And a lack of hygiene. . ."

"Do you know where it leads?" The Boss suddenly interrupted. Arabella turned to glare at him, annoyed at being interrupted. However, she nodded quickly and said, "Come on, follow me."

"Yes!" The Boss said, a look of actual joy on his face. "We're this much closer to rooting these things out!"

With that, the men followed Arabella down the street in the direction the feral's scent was taking them.

* * *

That night, Jill had gone to the hospital to visit Meg.

When she arrived, she immediately saw Meg's mother, sobbing over her daughter's unconscious body on the hospital bed. Meg's skin was pale, her eyes shut tight; the only indication she was alive was the ever so slight rising and falling of her chest.

It pained Jill to see her daughter's best friend in such a state, and she felt herself wracked with even more guilt. It occurred to her that the only reason the feral attacked Meg was because she had been with Riley.

Slowly, she approached Meg's mother, extending a hand and resting it on her shoulder in comfort. The other woman slightly jumped in surprise, turning around. Upon seeing it was Jill, she immediately wiped away her tears, not wanting to be seen in such a vulnerable state.

"Oh, Mrs. Andersen!" She said, still startled. "How are you?"

"I'm. . . fine," Jill replied, though she secretly doubted that. "How's Margaret?"

Meg's mother shrugged. "The doctors say she has a concussion," She confessed, wringing her arms. "They say she was lucky she was brought to the hospital soon enough." She lightly took Meg's hand and gave it a light squeeze as she spoke.

Jill looked down at Meg's unconscious body. "She didn't deserve this," She muttered, clenching her fists.

"I should never have let her go to school!" Meg's mother blurted out bitterly. "She should've been home, with me! Not here!" Though she tried to hold them in, she couldn't stop the tears from flowing.

Jill couldn't bear to see Meg's mother like that, so she instinctively wrapped her arms around her. "Hey, it's alright," She said to her. "Your daughter's going to be just fine."

Meg's mother swallowed her tears. "And. . . where's your daughter?" She asked.

Jill paused. "She's being. . . watched over," She said, shifting her eyes. She let out a deep sigh.

Wiping away her tears, Meg's mother said, "I still don't understand how the feral knew the girls were going to school today. It couldn't have just been a coincidence."

"Yeah," Jill mumbled to herself. "Unless it was. . . watching them before they left home."

As she spoke, Jill's eyes slowly widened as realization set in. The feral was after Riley; the only reason it would've gone to the school was if it knew Riley was going. And it only would've known if he'd been around when Riley left home. Which meant that the feral _had_ to have been near the Andersen's home when Riley left.

"I have to go home!" Jill suddenly shouted, startling Meg's mother.

"Go home?" She asked, surprised. "Why?"

"No time to explain!" Jill said, already heading towards the door at a fast pace. "I'll call you later!"

By that time, though, she was already out the door.

* * *

"Rob, stop spamming the cocktail!" Jordan snapped at the overweight Other as the two played _Left 4 Dead_ in the basement of their house. "You're going to set all of us on fire!"

"Well it works!" Rob retorted, snapping back to the game. He saw a zombie, it's body caught on fire, rushing towards him, and quickly blew it's brains out.

Shelley suddenly walked downstairs. "Do you have anything other to do than play that stupid game?" The blonde Other asked, irritated.

Rob paused the game, and turned to face Shelley, a stony glare in his eyes. "This game is not stupid," He growled.

"Yeah," Blackjacket agreed. They unpaused the game and continued playing it.

Shelley rolled her eyes and folded her arms. "Too much video-games are bad for you, you know," She lectured the two boys, who continued to ignore her.

As Shelley shifted her eyes, annoyed, she caught sight of something standing outside the window of the basement. A panicked look filled her face, and she straightened up.

"Zombie!" She shouted out in horror.

Rob paused the game once more. "Well, duh," He said, annoyed. "What do you think we're fighting?"

He noticed Shelley's panicked look, and asked, "S-Shelley?"

The blonde raised a shaky arm and pointed at the window. Slowly, the two boys turned around to stare at the window to see what she was pointing at.

Then, the two let out a blood-curdling scream.

There, staring at them through the window with lifeless eyes, was a feral zombie, licking it's rotten lips hungrily.

Before any of the three could react, the feral smashed through the window and lunged right at them.

* * *

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	12. Chapter 12

_Al Drin Hoshizora: Other blonde girl? Seriously?_

 _I am a burglar: Ugh..._

 _Antha1: She_ does _care about Riley. She just made a decision that should've been thought through better._

* * *

Mary had been lying in her bed, reading a gothic romance novel that she was sure she'd forget in a short amount of time. She didn't have a job yet, so she simply passed the time like this, enjoying a relatively peaceful, quiet life.

Then she heard Shelley's high-pitched scream coming from downstairs, and just like that, that life ended.

"Oh, dammit," She grumbled, slinging the book away. She knew that something _really_ bad must have happened to get Shelley to scream like that. She knew she should be concerned, what with Shelley being so terrified over _something_ , but she was just more irritated than anything.

"Was a day of peace and quiet really so hard to ask?" She mumbled as she swung open the door and stormed down the hallway and down the stairs. As she did, she could hear the screaming of not just Shelley, but Rob and Jordan as well. She could also hear a lot of running, stumbling, and things crashing.

Now Mary was beginning to get scared. She knew instantly that some kind of struggle must be going on downstairs to cause that much of a ruckus.

It appeared she wasn't the only one who had noticed, as she heard her brother, George, call out from upstairs, "Mary, what the Hell is up with all that noise? Are you guys screwing down there?"

"No!" Mary immediately shouted up at him. She heard the sound of glass shattering from below, and she knew she couldn't waste another second. Quickly, she threw open the basement door and flew down the stairs to see what was transpiring.

"Guys, what's going on-" She started, but froze in place when she saw it.

On one side of the room, Shelley, Rob and Jordan were all pressed up against the wall, Jordan holding his guitar as a makeshift weapon, though he was clearly scared out of his mind.

On the other side of the room was a slobbering, animalistic feral zombie. He was hunched down on all fours, emitting low growls as he glared at its prey with hungry eyes.

Mary stood at the end of the staircase, frozen in place. Her eyes were wide with shock and horror, her mouth opening and closing as she struggled to form words.

"F-F-F-" Was all she could manage to say. Her entire body was shaking was terror. Immediately, she was struck with flashbacks to the horrific battle at the Boss' Headquarters all those months ago, where the ferals had been thought to be defeated.

And yet, here was one of them, right here in the same room as her.

Suddenly, everyone heard footsteps coming down the basement staircase behind Mary.

"Hey, Mary, did you find out who was making all that n-" George was saying, but he stopped when he saw the feral in the room, cornering his friends. The feral suddenly turned to face him and Mary.

George was silent for all of one second. Then, he let loose the loudest, shrillest, most high-pitched scream Mary had ever heard.

"Feral!" He shouted out in a panicked voice. The sudden volume appeared to provoke the feral, as it began bounding across the room towards George and Mary, grunting wildly as he did.

"Crap!" Mary shouted, and whirled around to push George up the stairs. However, the feral was charging at them too quickly for them to run away.

Suddenly, something slammed into the feral from the side, sending it flying into the wall with such force it left a dent. George and Mary whirled around to see Rob standing in the same spot the feral used to be, panting heavily.

He turned towards George and Mary, and bellowed, "What are you waiting for? Run!"

George and Mary didn't need to be told twice. They dashed up the stairs, followed closely by Jordan and Shelley. Rob, meanwhile, turned to the feral, who was struggling to get to its feet. Thinking quickly, Rob rushed to the television screen and lifted it into the air over his head.

The feral sprang to his feet and turned to Rob, screeching and aching for a fight. However, he barely had time to react when the television screen slammed right into him, crushing him under its weight.

Rob took the opportunity to dash up the stairs as well, bursting through the door to join his friends in the living room. However, he stopped when he saw them, frozen in place.

"What's wrong?" He asked them. Mary slowly turned towards him, and pointed a shaking finger at the railing.

Rob looked up, and his eyes widened when he saw at least three more ferals, standing on the staircase railings and glowering down at the group, licking their decaying lips. There was a maniacal grin on their faces as they stared at their prey.

"Uh oh," Rob said. Turning to the others, he shouted, "Run!"

The group took off towards the door, but one of the ferals pounced, landing on top of Mary's back. The young woman let out a scream as the feral grabbed onto her hair with its clawed fingers, jerking her head back. She stumbled across the room, trying to shake the creature off of her.

"Help!" She cried out.

George stopped just as the group were about to exit through the door. Turning around, he shouted, "Mary!" He rushed to aid his sister, but was knocked to the ground by another feral.

The first feral dragged Mary to the ground, landing on top of her. Pinning the young woman, the feral lowered its jaws down to bite Mary's neck. She screamed out in horror.

Suddenly, a crashing sound was heard behind the feral's head, and he immediately slumped on top of Mary, unconscious. Looking up, Mary saw Jordan swing his guitar and knock the second feral out cold.

Mary groaned as she felt the feral's saliva drip down her cheek. Shoving the creature off of her, she scrambled to her feet, helping George up as well. "Come on, let's go!" She shouted, and the group took off towards the door. Behind them, the three ferals gave chase.

Rob slammed through the door, and the group burst out into the open darkness. They were about to continue running, but they froze when they saw several other ferals standing on the drive way, blocking their path.

"Oh no," George whispered in horror. The group was about to turn back, only to see the three ferals block their other exit. They hissed and growled at the group.

Slowly, the ferals surrounded the group, cutting off all their exits. The group huddled together in terror, wondering what the ferals intended to do to them.

One of the ferals let out a screech, and lunged at the group. They braced themselves for impact.

 _Bang!_

A gunshot rang out, and immediately, the feral dropped to the ground, dead, a bullet hole in his head. The group stared down at the body, stunned. All heads, including that of the ferals, whipped to the street to see a pair of glowing headlights zooming towards them.

Before they could react, a minivan slammed into three ferals, sending them hurtling across the drive way and landing on the grass. The door to the minivan was kicked open, and a familiar figure sprang out of the car.

Mary's eyes widened in shock. "Jill!" She shouted.

Jill K. Andersen rushed out of the car, a gun in her hands. The ferals whirled on the unexpected arrival, but they weren't fast enough. Jill raised the gun and fired three shots. Immediately, the three ferals slumped onto the ground, dead as well.

The group stared down at the dead ferals, and they let out breaths of relief. "Thank you, Jill," George said to her.

"The danger isn't over yet," Jill told the group. "Get in the car, and let's get out of here. _Then_ you can thank me."

The group was all too willing to comply. They rushed and squeezed themselves into Jill's minivan. Jill rushed into the driver's seat, and she started the car and began driving down the street.

As the minivan sped down the street, the screeches and growls of dozens of ferals began to fill the air across the neighborhood.

* * *

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	13. Chapter 13

_Al Drin Hoshizora: Meh._

 _Antha1: Even animals can tell when it's a good time to flee instead of fight. As for Ghoul...well, she did have a point, and Jill knew that Ghoul was mainly acting out of concern for Riley's well-being._

* * *

As Jill's group drove through the streets, they could hear the screeches of the ferals echo throughout the night sky. Soon, they could see the forms of the ferals appear throughout the neighborhood, partly concealed in darkness.

"What is going on?!" Shelley screamed as she saw the ferals crawl out of the shadows of the night.

"The ferals were here this whole time!" Jill explained to the young adults as she stepped on the gas. "They must have been slowly slipping into our neighborhood. When they seemed to have vanished, it was just them biding their time until they could all arrive here!"

"But why did they come here?!" Mary shouted, panic swelling inside of her.

"We were the ones who killed their leader Sawbones, remember!" Jill shouted. She suddenly swerved to avoid a feral, which had lumbered onto the streets. The group lurched in the back of the car before recovering.

"These _things_ may not be too bright, but they can definitely recognize us, especially by our scent," Jill explained to the group.

"How do you know this?" George asked.

"When I was at the hospital, I remembered the feral that attacked Riley at school," Jill explained. "The only reason the feral would've known she was going to school was if it had seen her leave. That meant the feral would've had to have been watching her. And if one rat is nearby, the whole swarm is only lurking around the corner!"

"So they're after Riley?" Jordan asked. "But where is she?"

"That's what I'm going to find out!" Jill shouted to the group. "Come on! We have to warn Ghoul that they're after Riley!"

With that, the minivan sped out of the infested neighborhood.

* * *

Riley and Ghoul sat on opposite sides of each other in a nearby restaurant, eating impassively.

Ghoul was hunched over, munching on her salad, her eyes fixated on the bowl. Riley, on the other hand, was resting her head on her hand, her empty gaze wandering to the night sky.

"Is something wrong, Riley?" Ghoul asked, noticing the look in Riley's eyes.

The blonde snapped back to attention. "No, nothing," She said, slightly waving Ghoul off. "It's just. . . you think you were too hard on mom?"

Ghoul furrowed her eyebrows. "She's your mother, Riley," She said to her. "She has to learn to be more responsible."

"She is responsible," Riley argued. "It's just that these are hard times. We're just off the heels of a zombie apocalypse and all. You can't expect everyone to make perfect decisions."

"Well they have to during times like this," Ghoul grumbled. She turned her head away from Ghoul and folded her arms. Riley could tell she wasn't in the mood for a debate.

Suddenly, Riley's phone started ringing. The blonde took it out of her pocket and saw Jill's number.

Answering the phone, she rose it to her ear and whispered, "Mom?"

"Where are you, Riley?!" She heard Jill shout at her from the other end of the phone.

Riley flinched at Jill's loud tone. "Quiet down," She said. "What's the issue?'

"Riley, what's going on?" Ghoul asked, but Riley ignored her.

"This is very important, Riley," Jill said, trying to sound calm. "I need you to listen closely."

Riley nodded. Not wanting to attract to herself in the restaurant, she got up and began to wander outside.

"Riley, where are you going?" Ghoul asked. When Riley continued to ignore her, Ghoul sighed, and was about to stand up and follow her when one of the waiters stopped her.

"You're going to have to pay for that," The waiter said, pointing to the bowl of salad on the table.

Ghoul let out a groan.

* * *

Riley stepped outside of the restaurant, the phone still near her ear. "What is it?" She asked, now that she was alone.

"It's our neighborhood," Jill explained to her. "It's not safe. The ferals. . . they're all in the neighborhood."

"What?!" Riley shouted out in horror. "What are you talking about?!"

"Listen to me!" Jill commanded. The neighborhood isn't safe. That includes Ghoul's apartment. If you're there, I need you to go, _now_."

"Where are you now?" Riley asked, still struggling to comprehend the sudden turn of events.

"I'm taking your friends to safety," Jill said. "That's not important right now. I want you to warn Ghoul, right now!" With that, the phone call ended.

Riley heard the door open behind her, and turned to Ghoul walk through the door. "Who was that?" She asked.

"It was mom," Riley explained to her, shoving the phone into her pocket. "She says the ferals are in the neighborhood, and-"

"They're _what_?!" Ghoul screamed.

"I know, I know, it's confusing, but listen to me," Riley said to her. "Mom wants to make sure that we're safe. She's taking the others out of the neighborhood, and she wants us to do the same."

Ghoul nodded understandingly. But then, a new thought entered her mind, and her eyes widened in horror.

"Oh no," She whispered, covering her mouth.

"What is it?" Riley asked, worried.

Ghoul looked down to stare at her, panic clear in her eyes.

"Noose," Was all she said.

* * *

Back at Ghoul's apartment, Noose sat on the sofa, flipping through the television. A bowl of chips lay at his side, the middle-aged Other grabbing a hand full of them and shoving them into his mouth absent-mindedly.

Noose began to hear heavy knocking on the door. With a sigh, the slightly overweight Other got up off the couch and began to walk towards the door as the knocking continued.

"I'm coming," He droned, half-asleep.

Suddenly, the phone began to ring. Noose turned towards it, seeing Ghoul's number, and was about to answer it when the knocking continued, louder.

"Eh, it's probably not important," Noose said with a shrug, turning away from the phone.

With that, he gripped the doorknob, and opened the door.

Seconds later, he let out a blood-curdling scream.

* * *

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	14. Chapter 14

_I am a burglar: Sigh..._

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: Meh._

 _Antha1: What?_

* * *

Noose's scream carried out across the building at the sight before him, his eyes widened in terror.

"Cripes, Noose, quiet down!" Jill shouted, clapping her hands over her ears to shut out the sound of his screaming. Next to her, the rest of the group did the same.

"Why do you have a gun?" Noose shouted in shock. "I swear I'm not a feral!"

"Calm down, Noose, we're not here to kill you," Jill said, putting the gun in her pocket. "We're here to get you out of the neighborhood. It's crawling with ferals.

"Really?" Noose said, calming down immediately. "That ain't good."

"I just called Riley," Jill explained to him. "We came here to pick her and Ghoul up."

"Oh," Noose said, rubbing his bald head. "Well, I'm afraid they're not here. They went out to get something to eat about an hour ago. At the very least, they should be out of immediate danger, though tracking them down could be a bit of a hassle."

"Great," Jill said, sarcastically. "Let's just get in the car and get out of here. I'm going to try and call the police so they can quarantine the area before things get out of hand. If those ferals infect too many people and unleash them on the rest of the city, it'll be doomsday all over again. These things spread quickly, you know."

"Got it," Noose said. With that, the group rushed through the hallway and towards the nearest elevator to get out of the building quickly.

As they descended through the apartment, the sounds of animal-like growling and howls of terror began to fill the complex. The younger members of the group recoiled in fear as Jill led them through the building to get outside.

"Look out!" Jordan shouted, pointing to the left. The group whirled around to see a feral, advancing upon the group, arms outstretched. It hadn't gotten more than a couple steps before being shot dead by Jill.

"Come on!" Jill shouted as the group reached the fire exit. Kicking the door open, the group ran out into the cold air. Outside, the streets were in the early stages of panic as the ferals began to make themselves known in the neighborhood. Men and women were rushing onto the streets in a crazed fit, desperate to avoid being infected or killed.

"Get in the van, now!" Jill ordered the rest of the group as she saw several ferals appear out of the darkness. As the group squeezed themselves inside the vehicle, Jill remained outside, shooting at the advancing ferals to keep them away from the others. Once the ferals had been kept at bay, Jill dove into the drivers seat and stepped on the gas.

Within moments, the van was zooming down the road and out of the neighborhood.

* * *

In another part of the neighborhood, the Boss' group had been faring much worse.

When Arabella had caught onto the scent of the feral, the men had tracked the scent down to Bill's own neighborhood. It was somewhat unnerving for Bill to know that the feral would be holed up so close to home, but even he didn't expect the onslaught that proceeded to occur.

The men had been caught completely by surprise. Shortly upon entering the neighborhood, the Boss' men had been set upon by a group of ferals. There had been much more than the group had expected, with ferals coming from all sides. Initially, the men's firepower had managed to keep the ferals at bay, but slowly, the feral's superior numbers had started to overwhelm the gunmen, and now, they were trapped in their trucks.

"It looks like the whole neighborhood is under attack!" Joe said to the Boss as he fired his gun through the window at the approaching ferals. "This is even worse than I thought!"

"I don't understand," The Boss said as he watched the ferals appear on the streets at an alarming rate. "How did the ferals amass the numbers to launch an attack like this?"

"We don't have time to discuss that," Bill said, before turning and shooting an advancing feral in the head. "We have to get to safety!"

"But the tires are slashed!" One of the gunners said. "We'll have to make a break for it if we want to live!"

Bill adjusted the situation. The ferals were coming from all sides; to find an escape route, they would have to blow a hole through their lines. Luckily, one of the neighboring houses on the right side of the truck was close by, and there weren't that many ferals blocking their path.

"We'll take that path!" Bill said, pointing to the house. Turning to Arabella, he said, "Lead the way!"

Arabella growled and nodded her head. With that, she kicked open the door and dashed out, mauling the nearest feral. The group took the opportunity to rush out of the trucks and make a wild dash towards the house.

The moment they had fled their vehicles, the ferals renewed their assault, pursuing the group with relentless ferocity. Some of the men couldn't make it to the house in time, and were dragged to their fate kicking and screaming by swarms of ferals.

Arabella struck down a feral blocking the entrance to the house, then promptly dragged the doorknob and swung the door open. Immediately, the surviving men dashed through. Arabella gave one last hiss at the ferals, then dashed inside herself, slamming the door shut behind her. The ferals slammed into the door, mauling it excessively.

Inside, the Boss shouted, "Barricade the door and windows, now!"

As the men went to work doing just that, the Boss turned to Bill and said, "Well, this just went to Hell. What do we do now?"

"My phone got lost during the escape," Bill explained. "Do any of these phones around here work? I have to call my wife and see if she's okay."

One of the men checked the home phone. "The lines have been cut," He confirmed. "We're alone."

Arabella walked up. "Well, the rest of the city is bound to find out what happened in the neighborhood soon," She reminded. "The big guns should arrive here eventually."

"Yeah, but will _we_ still be around when that time comes?" The Boss asked.

For that, nobody had an answer.

* * *

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	15. Chapter 15

_Al Drin Hoshizora: Call who?_

 _Cupid: Pffft..._

 _Js: Great._

 _So, this story got a whole lot bigger than I expected. When I first started it, I legitimately didn't have much of a story planned; it was just supposed to be a few one-shots designed to wrap up loose ends. Instead, it's become a full-on sequel. I'm pretty surprised, but in a good way._

* * *

Ghoul drove her car across the street towards her apartment, Riley in the passengers' seat. The older woman had a look of sheer panic on her face as she drove past the speed limit in a frantic attempt to reach the neighborhood before it was too late.

Though the two had had their quarrels in the past, Ghoul truly did care about Noose. She couldn't bare the thought of losing him in a time like this.

"Are we almost there?" Riley asked, gripping the sides of her seat nervously. Ghoul was driving so fast that she was afraid they would swerve off the street and crash into a building. Ghoul, however, was too busy driving to give an answer.

As they drove, Ghoul and Riley couldn't help but notice that some of the people on the streets and buildings didn't look like normal people, or even Others. They had pale skin, and lifeless eyes, and sharpened fangs.

Seeing these strange people caused Ghoul to slow down her driving, though only by a small bit, in order to get a better look at them to make sure she wasn't imagining things.

"What the. . ." She whispered breathlessly, as she noticed one of these people near the car at an alarming rate.

She didn't get enough time to respond. The pale man pounced onto the hood of the car, causing the glass to shatter. In the passengers seat, Riley let out a scream of terror as she saw that the man was, in fact, a feral.

"Riley!" Ghoul shouted as the feral swiped at the car. She immediately put the car in reverse, causing the feral to tumble off the hood and land on the street. Immediately, Ghoul stepped on the breaks and rammed into the feral at full force, sending it flying into a nearby wall. It crashed onto the ground, unconscious.

With the immediate danger over, Riley said, "What are the ferals doing here? Mom said they were in the neighborhood."

"It looks like there's more of them than we thought," Ghoul said, noticing the other pale people lining the streets. "It seems our trip to the neighborhood is going to have to be delayed! We have to find out where your mom and the others are!"

With that, the car turned and drove off. As it did, screams of terror arose on the streets as the ferals made themselves known outside the neighborhood.

* * *

Jill's group had just exited the neighborhood, and was zooming down the street at top speed. As they drove, they could see several ferals running amok across the streets.

"I don't get it," Mary said, pressing her face against the window. "I thought we killed most of those ferals. Why are there so many now?"

Noose, who was in the passengers seat, stroked his chin, deep in thought. Then, his eyes widened in shock.

"I know why!" He exclaimed, so loudly and suddenly that it caused Jill to swerve the car in surprise before regaining control.

"What is it?" Jill asked, trying to keep her eyes on what was in front of her to avoid the ferals that were scrambling onto the streets.

"The ferals came from the slammer, like Sawbones," Noose explained to the group. "He took us there once."

"Yeah, so what?" Shelley asked, leaning on Rob's shoulder.

"Well, think about it," Noose said. "That's not the only prison in San Francisco. There are lots of 'em, with lots of prisoners. And after the first zombie outbreak, all of them were left unguarded, leaving those prisoners to fester."

It took a few moments for the group to understand what Noose was getting at. When they did, Mary whispered, "You mean-"

"Yes," Noose said. "While the city was busy recovering, those ferals must have released the inmates locked up in those other prisons. And since the city was still tending to the damage done by that huge battle at the Hideout, we didn't notice it."

"Oh great," Jill said sarcastically. "It's the Hideout situation all over again, except this time, we're not prepared, and they actually formed a strategy."

"Can ferals even do that?" Mary asked, scratching her head.

Noose shrugged. "Others can learn," He pointed out, rubbing his bald head. "Heck, look at Arabella. She was probably the most feral Other in the city, and now look at her. If she could regain her intelligence, who's to say those ferals couldn't learn by watching us normal people from the shadows."

Jill snorted. "Well, it's a good thing we still have some advantages," She said. "Our mind, for instance. And once we find my daughter and Ghoul, we can actually form a plan to stop these monsters."

With that, the group drove down the street at a faster rate.

* * *

"How are things looking out there?" The Boss asked one of the men stationed near the window.

The man briefly peaked through the barricades of the window to see what was happening outside the house. Not a few seconds after he had done so, a feral lunged at the window, nearly breaking through it, causing the man to stumble backwards in shock. The other men stationed nearby quickly reapplied the barricades.

The man, sitting on his rump on the ground, turned to the Boss and gulped out, "Not good."

The Boss groaned impatiently, stomping his foot on the ground. "There's no way help is going to come in time. We're sitting ducks in here."

Arabella stood up. "Why don't you let me out?" She suggested. "I'm sure I can clear a path to one of those vehicles so we can escape."

"Can't risk it," The Boss said, stroking his chin in thought. "There are too many of them out there."

"Come on," Arabella grumbled, folding her arms. "I can handle a couple ferals. I'm the most feral of them all, remember."

"But you're still a little girl," The Boss reminded. "It's too much of a weight to put on you."

"A _tough_ little girl," Arabella retorted. After a few seconds, she added, "Thanks to you."

The Boss froze, turning to stare at Arabella, his eyes wide. The young girl stared at him with cold eyes, before turning and wandering off to take a seat on the floor.

The Boss sighed, pinching the bridges of his nose. Quickly, he walked briskly towards Arabella, taking a seat next to her. The Pale Girl shifted her eyes at him, but said nothing.

"Look, I know it's rough," The Boss said, not looking at Arabella. "For a little girl to have to endure all of this. . . and on her own. I can't understand how that must feel."

"No, you don't," Arabella muttered.

"But you have to understand that I'm looking out for the men," The Boss continued. "If we're going to survive, we need to rely on more than just blind luck. If we just rush out, guns blazing, who knows what could happen. I can't risk it."

"But you could risk me, right?" Arabella asked. "Risk putting me through agonizing experiments to find a cure for a disease, when a vaccine already exists. Risk bisecting me on the off chance you could find a cure for a virus that was partially created by _you_!"

"Arabella, listen to me," The Boss said, trying to keep calm. "I'm sorry-"

"Sorry for what?!" Arabella screamed, causing all heads to turn to her. "Sorry that you're responsible for all of this! For the ferals, for the outbreak, for _me_! Is that what you're sorry for?!"

"Yes!" The Boss roared, even louder than Arabella. "That is exactly what I'm sorry for! For every second that passes that we're stuck here, for every day that these ferals walk this earth, I am sorry for all of it, and I'll take that to the grave! It's more than what my old man ever did!"

Arabella froze. She realized that she and Boss were no longer sitting down, but standing and facing each other.

The Boss inhaled, and spoke again, his voice more restrained. "Now, unless we can cooperate with each other, a lot of other things are going to happen that we'll both be sorry for. So, if you give a damn about the people in your lives, you will let go of your hatred and help us!"

Arabella breathed in. Her eyes locked with the Boss's, neither of them backing down.

Eventually, Arabella whispered, "Alright, then. Let's form a plan."

* * *

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	16. Chapter 16

_Al Drin Hoshizora: What?_

 _I am a burglar: Indeed._

 _Antha1: Really?_

* * *

After turning in the opposite direction of the neighborhood, Ghoul and Riley had driven to the nearest police station. To their horror, however, a group of ferals were at the station nearby. Currently, the police force was occupied keeping the ferals at bay.

"Crap!" Ghoul said, slamming her fist on the steering wheel. She had hoped the police station would've been safe.

One of the police officers turned his head in the duo's direction. "You two, get out of here!" He commanded. "This area's not safe!"

"Is there any area that _is_?" Riley pondered aloud. In the drivers seat, Ghoul turned the car around and drove off down the street, away from the police station. The sounds of gunfire and screeching echoed in the distance.

"Come on, this is a big city," Ghoul pointed out. "There's got to be some place that is safe."

Craning her neck around to face Riley, Ghoul said, "You still got your phone on you? Can you use it to call your parents?"

"I'll try," Riley said. She was about to pull out her cellphone, but suddenly, the car came to a screeching halt. The sudden stop made Riley's head jerk forward and nearly crash into the window.

"What the-!" She shouted in shock, before realizing that a pipe had been hurled into the car's engine. Looking up, the two girls saw a group of ferals standing atop a nearby building, holding large, steel pipes and leering down at them.

"Oh, you got to be shitting me," Ghoul whispered, her pupils shrinking.

"Run!" Riley shouted immediately. As the ferals hurled the pipes down towards them, the two girls burst out of the car and rushed towards one of the buildings. The pipes landing close by, nearly impaling the two.

Eventually, Riley and Ghoul made it to the building. Sparing one last glance at the ferals at the top of the nearby building, the two girls made a mad dash inside, slamming the door shut behind them.

The two girls leaned against the door, breathing heavily. "So much for finding my parents," Riley muttered. Standing up, she walked over to the nearest window and peered out. The ferals were retreating from the roof of the building and back inside. Currently, they were descending the stairs.

"They're coming for us," Riley pointed out.

Ghoul nodded, and continued breathing. "Can you still call your parents?" She asked.

"Even if I did, we won't be able to reach them so long as we're suck in here," Riley pointed out. "And we can't go back to the car, and we definitely can't run-"

"Can you say something _positive_?" Ghoul snapped at her, narrowing her eyes.

"Sorry," Riley mumbled, folding her arms behind her back. She began whistling slightly, and finally took out her phone.

"We might as well give this a try," She said with a shrug. Dialing her mom's phone number in, Riley sent the call out.

It didn't take long to receive an answer. "Mom?" Riley asked, putting the cellphone against her ear and leaning against the wall. Ghoul stood a distance away, tapping her fingers together.

"Riley?" She could hear Jill saying from the other end of the phone. Riley could hear the sound of Jill's minivan driving across the street, and she could tell Jill was still in the car.

"Where are you, honey?" Jill asked, concerned.

"We're trapped in a building," Riley explained to Jill. "It's near the San Francisco Police Department. Once you reach there, take a left turn. You should find Ghoul's car. We're in the building on the other side of the road."

"We'll be there as soon as we can," Jill reassured her. "Tell Ghoul that I have Noose and the others with me."

"Where's dad?" Riley suddenly asked.

"I haven't been able to find him," Jill replied. "He's with the Boss and Arabella, at the very least, so he should be in better conditions than we are."

"Okay," Riley said, still nervous. "Hope you get here soon. Love you."

"I love you too, Riley," Jill said. With that, the call ended.

Ghoul walked up to Riley. "Well, how did that go?" She asked, rubbing her knuckles together.

"Jill says she's on her way here," Riley informed her. "Oh, and she has Noose with her."

"That's good," Ghoul said, still visibly nervous. "I hope they get here soon."

As she spoke, the two could hear banging coming from the other side of the door, accompanied by heavy rasping and clawing sounds.

Riley gulped. "It's not when they get here that we should be hoping for," She said. "It's that we're still _alive_ once they do."

* * *

In the neighborhood, the ferals wandered across the streets in search of more Ferals. Already, the ferals were feasting on the corpses of unlucky men and women who had failed to get away in time. Other ferals were trying to break into the many barricaded doors around the neighborhood.

Suddenly, a bullet hit one of the ferals in the head from above, causing the feral to slump onto the ground, dead.

The other ferals whirled around confusion. Looking up, they saw several gunmen standing atop the roof of one of the houses. Roars and hisses of anger arose among the ferals, and they began clambering towards the house.

The gunmen began firing at the ferals from above, aiming for their heads. More and more bodies hit the floor as the ferals were felled by the volley of bullets. Still, more came.

Observing the men's progress, Bill said to the Boss, "So, what's the plan?"

"Hopefully, we can clear out this street," The Boss replied. "Then, we can get into those cars and make it to safety."

Bill looked down at the street as more ferals continued to lumber towards their area. "Are you sure we can get _all_ of them?" He asked. "Our bullets are finite."

"So are they," The Boss replied. "We may not be able to kill them all, but it may just be enough to make a rush for it."

"They're on the lawns!" One gunner pointed out. Bill and the Boss looked down to see that the ferals had indeed made it to the lawn and were heading to the house.

"Keep your aim steady!" The Boss commanded. "Make sure they don't reach the house!"

The gunners intensified their fire on the nearest ferals. But even as the ferals began to fall, more were attracted by the gunfire.

Bill sighed. "This plan had better work," He grumbled.

* * *

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	17. Chapter 17

_Js: Okay._

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: Oh._

 _Antha1: Ferals can make booby-traps?_

* * *

Riley and Ghoul had barricaded the door and windows to the apartment in order to keep the nearby ferals from gaining entrance. Both were well aware that these barricades wouldn't hold the ferals for long; they just hoped it would stall them long enough for Jill and the others to arrive.

The two girls could hear the ferals pounding on the door outside, their growls of anger echoing in the air. Riley shivered uncomfortably; listening to their growls reminded her of the times when she had been an Other, hunting down Freaks with her comrades.

Ghoul took Riley by the wrist. "Let's go upstairs," She said, half-dragging Riley up the stairs of the apartment. As they hurried up, the sounds of the ferals trying to break through the door gradually grew smaller and more distant.

Once the two had reached the higher levels of the apartment, they rushed into an empty room, locking the door behind them. Ghoul shut down the windowsill while Riley slumped onto the ground, exhausted. She was joined shortly afterwards by Ghoul.

For some time, that was all the two kid. Simply sat on the floor, as if waiting for something, whether for Jill to come for them or for the ferals to inevitably break into the apartment. There was pure silence in the room; even the sounds of the ferals outside the apartment door were minuscule.

After a few minutes had passed, Riley whispered, "Ghoul, what will happen if the ferals break in before Jill gets here?"

"Then I will kill them," Ghoul replied almost immediately, her eyes staring blankly at the window. "I will kill them before I let them touch you."

Riley's eyes widened a bit. "But what if you can't hold them off?" She asked, rubbing her arm uncomfortably.

"Riley, don't ask questions if you don't want to hear the answer," Ghoul said, an aggressive tone in her voice that put Riley on edge. The blonde inched away from Ghoul cautiously, almost afraid that if she irritated the woman too much, she would lash out.

Ghoul seemed to notice Riley's fear, and finally turned to her. "Sorry," She said bluntly, before turning back to the window.

Riley swallowed, and turned her head away from Ghoul, her eyebrows furrowing. "You've been acting strangely lately," She blurted out before she could even think.

Ghoul turned back to Riley, an eyebrow raised. "What?" She asked, even though she had heard perfectly.

"Ever since these ferals came about, you've been acting very. . . protective," Riley said with a shrug. "Following me around at school, trying to whack a guy that came near me with a branch. . ."

"I'm just concerned for your safety, Riley," Ghoul said bluntly. "You, me and Noose. . . we're part of a group. I don't want to lose a member of the team."

"We _used_ to be part of a team," Riley said to her. "Things are different, now, even if it's not by much. I'm with my parents now, and you're living with Noose, trying to get back to normal-"

"Things aren't normal, Riley!" Ghoul suddenly shouted, cutting Riley off. "Just what is "normal", Riley, can you define that? In a place were half of the population are Freaks, the other half are Others, and a section of them are ferals, just what is "normal" there, huh?"

Riley stared at Ghoul, her eyes widened. She didn't speak a word.

"The reason I've been watching over you is because things aren't normal," Ghoul went on, her frustration bubbling over. "If I wasn't watching over you, you would have been dead or infected a dozen times over! When I first found you, you were practically knocking on Death's doorstep! The world is a dangerous place, Riley, and it's even more dangerous now, when some people are looking to rip your flesh off! Do you understand that, Riley?!"

Silence swept into the room as Ghoul finished shouting. Riley was staring up at Ghoul, breathing heavily. Her blue eyes were wide with fear, her chest rising and falling.

As quickly as Ghoul's anger had rose, it subsided. She saw the terror in Riley's eyes, and her anger was immediately replaced with guilt.

"I'm sorry, Riley," Ghoul said, reaching out to place a comforting hand on Riley's shoulder. The young girl recoiled as she felt Ghoul's cold skin briefly brush against her warm skin, and Ghoul immediately pulled her hand back, seeing the discomfort in Riley's face.

"I'm really sorry," Ghoul repeated. "It's just. . . I'm really scared, Riley. I don't want the city to become an apocalyptic hellhole like it once was. I don't want to lose Noose, or you."

Riley breathing slowly returned to normal as she calmed down. As she recollected her breath, she found the will to respond.

"I. . . I understand, Ghoul," She whispered softly. In spite of this, Ghoul turned away from Riley, somewhat ashamed.

Riley crept up towards Ghoul. "Ghoul, I know you're worried about me," She said to her. "I know you're worried you might lose me. And I want you to know that I do care about you."

Ghoul slightly raised her head and tilted it in Riley's direction, but she didn't respond.

"I know I'm with my parents now, but you still mean a lot to me," Riley explained to her. "I could never forget all you've done for me. And if we get out of this mess alive, we'll still be friends. Still be a team."

Ghoul stared at Riley slowly. Then, slowly, she smiled.

"Thank you, Riley," She whispered.

Just then, the two heard the sound of car wheels driving down the street. The girls saw headlights flashing outside the window, and rushed over to the window to see what it was. Their morale soared when they recognized Jill's minivan driving down the street.

"They're here!" Riley shouted joyously.

Immediately, Riley and Ghoul began shouting and waving from the open window in order to get Jill's attention. Beneath them, the car skidded to a stop, and they could see Jill and the others begin to get out of the car.

"Mom!" Riley shouted.

"Riley!" Jill shouted up at them. "Don't worry, we'll be up there in a sec!"

Riley and Ghoul could feel their hearts leap with joy. However, their relief was replaced with horror when they looked downwards at the entrance of the apartment. To their dismay, the door and windows had been smashed open, and the ferals were nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, no," Riley whispered in horror.

The two girls heard the ferals before they saw them. The sound of animalistic snarling snapped Riley and Ghoul's heads to the closed door. Outside the locked door, they could hear the ferals smashing against the door. It was old and weak, and the ferals were chipping away at it easily.

Riley rushed and grabbed a block of broken cement off of the ground, clutching it in her fist as a weapon. Ghoul extended her claws, preparing herself for when the ferals inevitably broke through the door.

Which they did.

The door swung open, and the ferals scrambled inside the room after the two girls. Three of them went for Ghoul, while two made a dash for Riley.

The three ferals rammed into Ghoul, slamming her into the wall and attempting to pin her. Ghoul struggled against their combined weight, using her sharp nails to rip into their skin, eliciting howls of agony from them. She rammed her foot into the nearest feral's gut in an attempt to push him away, while the two ferals behind him pushed back in order to keep her incapacitated.

Nearby, Riley readied the cement block as the two other ferals approached her. One of them made a wild dash for her, and Riley slammed the cement block into his skull. The feral collapsed onto the ground soundlessly, and the other feral took the opportunity to strike. It swiped its claws at Riley, but the young girl was nimble. She dodged past the ferals swipes, using her small size to her advantage.

As the ferals pressed against Ghoul, the young woman drove her teeth into one of their shoulders. The feral howled in pain and jumped backwards, causing the other two ferals to stumble onto the ground. Now free, Ghoul rushed to the feral harassing Riley, pouncing onto his back.

As the feral thrashed wildly with Ghoul on top of him, the woman gripped onto his hair and pulled it, causing the feral to stumble backwards towards the wall. Seconds before colliding with the wall, Ghoul spun the feral around, causing him to slam face-first into the wall. He collapsed onto the ground, dazed.

As one of the other ferals began to get up, Riley slammed the cement block onto his head, knocking him back down. As Riley moved to finish him off, one of the other ferals jumped to his feet and approached Riley from behind.

Ghoul saw the feral coming, and rushed to her feet towards them. "Riley, watch out!" She shouted, but she knew Riley couldn't react in time. The feral was too close.

As Riley turned her head around, all she saw was the feral's teeth closing in on her. All she had time to do was widen her eyes before the feral struck.

A crunching sound was heard, and a scream of agony ripped through the air.

Riley shut her eyes tight, but opened them when she realized that she wasn't the one who had been bitten. Looking up, she gasped in horror as she saw the feral's fangs clamped around Ghoul's arm.

Riley realized with shock that Ghoul must have rushed in and taken the blow for her before the feral struck.

Ghoul groaned in pain as the feral continued to drive its teeth into her arm. The sudden pain that coursing through her paralyzed her, and she couldn't try to fight back against the feral.

Suddenly, a bullet rang through the air, and the feral biting her released her and collapsed onto the ground, dead. Ghoul clutched her bleeding arm, and looked down at the dead feral to see a bullet hole in his head.

She and Riley whipped her head to the open door to see Jill, Noose, and the others. A gun was in Jill's hand.

"Get away from them," Jill growled at the remaining ferals.

The ferals howled, and charged towards Jill. Immediately, several more gunshots rang through the air, and those ferals dropped dead as well.

Once she was sure the ferals were dead, Jill ran towards Ghoul and took hold of her. "Are you alright?" She asked, holding her bleeding atm.

Ghoul bit her lip, clearly in agony, but simply said, "Just a flesh wound."

Jordan peaked out from behind Jill. "Um, are you going to become a feral now that you've been bitten?" He asked, concerned.

"Of course not," Ghoul snapped. "I'm already an Other. I can't be infected, because I already am."

Hearing this, Riley's eyes widened, and a thought entered her mind.

* * *

 _ **(In Riley's Mind)  
**_

During the events leading up to this moment, Fear had been the primary emotion running Riley's mind. But just now, Joy began to take center stage.

"Guys, I think I might know how to stop this," She said to the other emotions, an idea forming inside her mind.

"How?" Anger asked. "Sure, Jill's here, but it's not like she's enough to stop all the-"

"No, not that," Joy said, cutting him off. "You see, for us, there are two dangers posed by the ferals: death or infection. But the Others can't be infected by the ferals, because they already are."

"It would still hurt like hell, though," Anger pointed out.

"Yeah, it would, but still, that means the ferals only pose one danger to the Others," Joy explained. "The only way those ferals could revert this city back to the apocalypse it was is by turning us Freaks into Others and ridding us of our humanity. But if they were faced with the Others, they couldn't convert them."

"What are you getting at?" Sadness asked.

Joy scratched her chin, and smiled brightly. "I think I know a way we can stop this disease before it spreads! Follow me!"

* * *

 _Yeah, I decided to have the emotions show up, since they haven't appeared in a while. Anyways, read and review.  
_


	18. Chapter 18

_Razorback 234: Uh-huh._

 _Antha1: Riley was cured in the last story, remember? She's not an Other anymore._

 _I am a burglar: Fine._

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: Of course it's a good thing._

* * *

In the infested neighborhood, dozens of ferals lined the streets in front of the house where the Boss' gunners were located. The gunners continued to fire from the rooftops down at the advancing corpse-like beings, striking more and more of them to the ground. By now, the streets and lawn were littered with dead bodies.

Bill watched as more ferals converged on the streets. In spite of the Boss' reasoning, it appeared as if the Boss' plan was simply attracting more ferals to the area, rather than thinning out their numbers.

"Boss, are you sure about this plan?" He asked, turning to the Boss. However, the blonde man merely held a walkie talkie to his ear, barely acknowledging Bill. He stared down at the ferals as they converged on the streets, as if waiting for something.

Bill raised an eyebrow at the Boss. "Excuse me?" He asked, somewhat offended at seemingly being ignored. "Boss, are you listening to me?"

The Boss, still holding the walkie talkie, nodded slowly and whispered something that Bill didn't catch. At first he thought the Boss was speaking to him; it took him a few moments to realize that the Boss was actually acknowledging whoever he was speaking with on the walkie talkie.

Suddenly, the sound of a vehicle driving down the street ripped through the air, causing the ferals on the street to whip their heads in the direction of the sound. As they did, the Boss raised his arm, signalling for his men to cease fire.

A truck blasted down the street at top speed, zooming towards the ferals crowded on the street. Before the ferals could move, the truck barrelled into them. Some ferals were sent flying in the air; others were mowed down under the truck's wheels.

"What the-" Bill shouted in shock as the truck did a hasty swerve, knocking over several other ferals in the process, before driving towards the house, coming to a stop on the driveway.

The window of the truck was rolled down, and Bill gasped when he saw Arabella at the wheel of the truck. "Come on!" She shouted, urging the men to come forth.

The Boss turned to Bill and the gunners. "Better do what she says," He said to them. Without a second thought, the gunners dove off the roof and onto the lawn, rushing towards the truck while shooting down the remaining ferals nearby.

As the Boss and Bill followed the men to the truck, Bill shouted, "What was that all about? Why is Arabella in a truck?!"

"I needed a vehicle," The Boss explained to Bill as they entered the truck. "But there was no way we could get out of that house without the ferals swarming us. Arabella was technically the most similar to the ferals in appearance, so she was the easiest to sneak out of the house to get us a vehicle while we got the ferals in exactly the possession for her to run them over!"

"You let a little girl drive a truck?!" Bill shouted to the Boss as they shut the truck door. In the driver's seat, Arabella crawled into the backseat while the Boss took her place.

"It worked, didn't it?" The Boss replied. "Anyways, let's get a move on. We have to get out of here before more ferals come!"

With that, the Boss stepped on the gas, and the truck blasted down the street.

* * *

Shortly after having escaped the abandoned building in Jill's car, Riley and the others had spent several minutes contacting several Others over the phone. Ever since they had helped restore the Other's humanity months ago, Riley and her friends had kept in contact with several healing Others.

"I want you to meet us at the central police station. . ." Riley was saying to one of the Others on the phone. "Yes, right now. Bring whoever you know with you. The fate of the city depends on it."

"Are you sure this is going to work, Riley?" Jordan asked, squeezed between her and Mary. "Most of us aren't the same savage fighters we used to be."

"We still have those ferals outnumbered at the moment, Jordan," Riley pointed out to him. "And besides, we dealt with them once before; we can do it again. We're just going to need some assistance."

By the time the group arrived at the police station, the fighting had died down. Most of the ferals in the area had been subdued, and the officers were busy clearing the area. By now, several Others were also arriving on the scene after having been called there by Riley and the rest of the group.

Hopping out of the car, the group rushed to the head officer. Turning to face them, the officer said, "I thought I gave orders for every civilian to stay indoors. Why are so many people coming here at this time."

"We told them to come here," Jill explained to the officer.

"What?" The officer said, raising an eyebrow.

Riley decided to explain to the officer. "Look, officer, I know how we can deal with these ferals," She said to him. "Just let me explain."

"You're a little girl," The officer said, dismissing her. "It's not your decision to make. Let the police handle this."

"The police _can't_ handle this, not alone," Riley pointed out to him. "There are too many ferals out there for just you to take on. But if you and the Others join forces, you could. . ."

"Join forces with the _zombies_ to fight the _zombies_?" The officer interrupted, rolling his eyes. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, just listen to me," Riley pleaded with the officer.

"Who gives you the right to us how to handle this crisis?" The officer demanded.

Suddenly, Ghoul rushed forward and shoved the officer back. Grabbing him by the collar, she pulled him in close and growled, "She has the right because she's the reason this city even got this far in the first place! If it wasn't for her, we'd all be walking corpses right now!"

Giving the officer a shove, she demanded, "Now listen to what she has to say!"

The officer, visibly shaken, brushed himself off and turned to Riley. "Kid, what are you proposing?" He asked.

Once she was sure she had his attention, Riley continued. "A few months ago, we almost defeated the ferals when the Others and the, ahem, _freaks_ worked together," She said to him. "You see, the ferals could only grow back in numbers by infecting freaks and converting them into ferals. But, since the Others are technically already infected, they can't be infected by the ferals."

"What are you getting at?" The officer questioned.

"I know a lot of Others who wouldn't want this city to return to the hellhole it once was," Riley said to him. "Let them join you. If we can just work together, the ferals won't stand a chance. And since the Others can't be converted into ferals. . ."

"I think I got you, kid," The officer cut her off. "It might just work."

Riley smiled hopefully. "First, we got to go to my neighborhood," She suggested. "I think that's where the majority of the ferals are concentrated."

Jordan tapped on her shoulder. "Um, Riley, how do we get into the neighborhood with all those ferals crawling all over the place," He asked.

Riley paused for a moment to think. After a few moments, her eyes lit up and she turned to the head officer.

"Do you guys got any helicopters available?" She asked him.

* * *

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	19. Chapter 19

_I am a burglar: Yeah, sure._

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: Huh?_

* * *

As it turned out, the police force did have a number of military helicopters stored in a safe place. The aircraft hadn't been used since the infection first broke out, and once the initial apocalypse had been averted, the aircraft was removed to a secrete location, and hadn't been used since.

Until now.

"I've always wondered what being in a helicopter feels like," Jordan commented as Riley yanked him into the large aircraft alongside a number of officers and Others. Surrounding them, many people who were volunteering to join the fight were being armed and boarding the helicopters to reclaim the infested neighborhood.

"Kids, are you sure you want to tag along?" One of the officers asked Riley and Jordan.

Jordan opened his mouth to reply, but Riley interrupted, saying, "My dad is trapped in there. I have to make sure he's safe. Besides, I've encountered these ferals before; they don't scare me."

That last part was a lie, but Riley wanted to sound confident. Besides, her mother and her older friends were taking part, and she wanted to be near them when the fighting broke out.

She spared a glance at Ghoul, who was in a different helicopter. For a second, their eyes met.

Riley thought she heard Ghoul whisper, "See you at the neighborhood."

Then, the helicopter doors closed, and Riley heard the helicopter's powerful wings begin to activate. Below her, she could feel the aircraft begin to lift itself off of the ground. She was sure the other helicopters were doing the same.

For a moment, Riley felt a twinge of doubt as the helicopter began to fly in the direction of her neighborhood. She huddled close to Jill and Jordan, silently telling herself to stay strong.

She would have to be if she were to survive the oncoming battle.

* * *

The Boss' plan of finding an escape vehicle had been relatively easy. Actually escaping the neighborhood, however, was not.

Dozens of ferals pursued the truck as it sped across the street. Several gunmen fired at the ferals as they passed by, while the Boss ran over other ferals that blocked their path. Still, more came.

Had it not been for the ferals, the men would've gotten out of the infested area much quicker. However, they had been forced to take several detours in order to avoid the bloodthirsty creatures, which had inadvertently resulted in them remaining stuck in the neighborhood much longer than they had expected.

"Was this part of your plan, Boss?" Bill asked as a feral pounced onto his side of the truck. The feral punched through the window and reached for Bill, but the man immediately pulled out a handgun and shot the feral in the forehead, sending it flying off the truck.

"I didn't exactly have much time to think about it!" The Boss shouted as he swerved to avoid a group of ferals advancing on the truck. "Frankly, I'm surprised we managed to make it this far!"

"Well it doesn't matter how far we go if we still end up dead!" Bill exclaimed.

"Look out!" Arabella shouted, pointing forward. Bill and the Boss turned to the front windowsill to see a feral launch itself directly onto the hood of the truck, landing with a crash. The force of the landing caused the truck to swerve into a fire hydrant, crashing it and causing the feral to fly off the hood.

"Oh, great!" The Boss grumbled, slamming his fist on the steering wheel in frustration.

The occupants of the crashed vehicle could hear the growls and hisses of the ferals from around the neighborhood. It appeared to be coming from everywhere; in spite of all the ferals that had been killed, they still had the occupants heavily outnumbered. It was as if the ferals were unlimited in numbers.

The ferals walked towards the vehicle slowly. They knew that their prey was trapped and had nowhere else to go. Though they were surrounded, the gunmen in the back of the truck made a last attempt to fight, shooting at the nearest ferals as they approached the vehicle. Though some ferals fell, it wasn't enough to dramatically decrease their numbers.

In the passengers seat, Bill whispered, "We're all going to die."

Arabella grumbled. "If we're gonna die, I might as well take some of them with me!" She growled, and burst out of the downed vehicle, ready to take on the ferals with her bare claws.

"Come on!" She shouted at the ferals in front of her, brandishing her claws. "Come and get me!"

The ferals howled in response to her challenge. They sprinted towards her, ready to rip the girl to shreds.

Suddenly, several lights flashed from up in the air, engulfing the ferals on the street in light. The ferals ceased their advance and whipped their heads up towards the lights. In the air, they could see several large aircraft hovering over them.

The trapped occupants of the truck gazed up at the helicopters.

"What the. . ." Bill whispered as he squinted his eyes up at the sky.

Immediately, gunfire poured from the aircraft, ripping through the ferals standing on the ground. With no cover, the ferals immediately began to flee from the spray of bullets heading in their direction. In the truck, the gunmen dove to find cover from the hail of bullets.

As Bill hid to avoid the gunfire, he heard a familiar voice shout, "There they are! My father is in the truck! Get down to it, now!"

His eyes widened in shock. "Riley?" He whispered.

Looking out the window of the truck, Bill saw one of the helicopters soar towards the street in front of the truck. The doors opened and instantly, multiple people, Freaks and Others alike, burst out onto the streets, all of them wielding aircraft. They charged at the scattered ferals, gunning them down within seconds.

Bill saw Riley and Jill jump out of the helicopter and dash towards the truck. Ripping the truck door open, the two pulled Bill out of the truck.

"Dad!" Riley shouted, hugging Bill tightly.

"Bill, are you alright?" Jill asked him as she observed a scar on my forehead.

"I'm fine," Bill said, brushing off his wife's concerns. "What are you two doing here?"

"Saving your life!" Jill replied. She promptly pulled out a gun and shot a feral that was rushing towards them.

The vehicle occupants, realizing that help had arrived, were quick to abandon the truck and join the battle, now that the odds had been evened. The ferals continued to attack, but now that the advantage in numbers had been lost, they were quick to fall to their adversaries' firearms.

Riley rushed towards the helicopter pilots. "Pilots, tell the other men to spread out across the neighborhood!" She ordered. "We'll cut off the ferals' vantage points and box them in! Use your aircraft for air support!"

"Got it!" One of the pilots said before lifting the helicopter back into the air. As they did so, the other pilot turned to him and said, "Is it weird that we're taking orders from a child?"

"Given the situation, can you honestly question it?" The first pilot asked. The other pilot stayed silent for a bit, then shook his head.

On the streets, Riley threw Bill a gun. "Come on, dad!" She said to him. "Let's retake the neighborhood!"

Bill raised an eyebrow at her. "We're going to need a serious talk when this is all over," He said to her.

With that, the two joined the rest of the fighters in the battle against the ferals.

* * *

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	20. Chapter 20

_Al Drin Hoshizora: Okay..._

 _Antha1: If you say so._

* * *

Above the infested neighborhood, dozens of military helicopters soared overhead. The occupants of the aircraft observed the fight that was beginning to ignite in the streets, readying themselves to take part in it.

Ghoul was among them. The helicopter doors were open, allowing her to watch as her comrades battled the ferals on the streets down below. The firefight that was occurring now was brutal enough as it was, but Ghoul knew this was only a fraction of the violence that was about to take place that night, or for how long it took to rid the city of the ferals.

Ghoul could just make out Riley on the streets, side-by-side with her parents, on the streets, gunning down the advancing ferals. A side of her ached to see Riley thrust into such danger, but she shook it off. She knew she had to focus on the battle at hand.

From the corner of her eye, Ghoul caught sight of the Andersen's street, which was crawling with ferals. She made a quick decision that that street would be their landing.

"Pilot!" Ghoul shouted to the helicopter pilot. "Land in front of that house!" She pointed to the Andersen's large house in the distance.

Immediately, the helicopter veered off from its original course, followed by two others. The vehicle occupants struggled to remain steady by the sudden swift in motion, and the helicopter doors retracted to keep anyone from falling out.

Even though she could no longer see outside, Ghoul could feel the helicopter begin to land on the streets. She readied her weapon, steeling herself for the doors to open, and for everyone to charge outside.

For a few tense seconds, the helicopter stopped moving. Everyone inside prepared themselves to fight. Outside, they could hear the howls of screeches of the enraged ferals on the streets.

Finally, the doors opened.

"Everyone out!" A random gunman shouted, and immediately, the vehicle occupants rushed out of the helicopters and onto the streets. Instantly, they were met with wave upon wave of ferals charging like animals towards them. Quickly, gunfire rang in the air as the gunmen fired upon the charging ferals.

Ghoul pushed forward, shooting down several ferals. However, her eyes were not on them, but on the Andersen's house. She had taken it upon herself to secure it.

Leaving the ferals and the gunmen to fight it out on the streets, Ghoul ran onto the lawn and towards Riley's house, shooting any ferals that came for her. Once she reached the door, Ghoul kicked it open and rushed inside.

She was met with several ferals wandering about in the living room, apparently unaware of her presence. Ghoul froze for a moment, watching as the ferals walked aimlessly around the house.

After a moment of hesitation, Ghoul raised the gun and shot the first feral in the temple, causing it to fall to the ground soundlessly. Immediately, the other ferals were alert to Ghoul's presence, and charged towards her, snarling.

Ghoul gunned down the first two quickly and successfully, but her gun jammed just as the final feral approached. Ghoul felt the force of a freight train ram into her as the feral tackled her into the wall, pinning her.

Immediately, the two struggled against each other, each attempting to overpower the other. The feral's jaws opened, and he attempted to clamp his fangs onto her throat. Ghoul's eyes widened; though she knew she couldn't be infected, a bite in that area would be fatal within moments. Thinking quickly, she jammed her sharp nails into the feral's gut, causing it to stumble backwards, clutching onto his wound. This gave Ghoul the opportunity to ram into the feral with enough force to send him flying into the wall. The back of the feral's head slammed into the wall, and immediately, he slumped onto the ground.

Ghoul dropped onto the ground, breathing heavily and clutching her beating chest. The fight had worn her out immensely. Getting to her feet, Ghoul limped towards the phone on the counter.

Picking it up, she dialed in Jill's number.

* * *

On the streets, Riley, Bill and Jill were blasting away at the hordes of ferals charging towards them. Jill was distracted when she heard her cellphone ringing in her pocket. Pausing, Jill took the phone and answered it.

"Jill?" She heard Ghoul's voice on the other end of the phone.

"Ghoul?" Jill replied. "How's the fight going on your end?"

"I'm in your house," Ghoul explained to her, evidently out of breath. "I'm almost done securing it, but I think I could use some help." As she finished speaking, Jill heard the sound of a feral howling on the other end of the phone.

Ghoul clearly heard it too, as she quickly said, "I gotta go." Before abruptly ending the call.

"Shoot," Jill said, putting the phone back in her pocket. Whipping out her gun once more, she rushed towards Bill and Riley, saying, "Ghoul needs our help. She's at our house!"

Bill, who had just finished blowing away an advancing feral, turned towards her. "But we're too busy here," He said. "The Boss needs our help."

The Boss turned to Bill. "No, you go and help her," He said to her, lowering his gun. "We'll hold the ferals here."

"But, Boss-"

"Don't worry about us, Bill," The Boss said with a smile. "We'll be alright."

After a pause, Bill nodded to the Boss. Then, he, Jill and Riley rushed to one of the landed helicopters. "Pilot, get us into the air, now!" He shouted to the pilot. "I'll show you where to go!"

"Roger," The pilot responded, and the trio hopped into the helicopter, which took off over the rooftops and into the air. Soon, it was flying in the direction to the Andersen house.

The Boss watched as the helicopter flew off. Then, he snapped back to the battle at hand. Rushing forward, he gunned down several ferals on the streets, joined by his men and several other gunners who had arrived via helicopter. They formed a line on the street, preventing the ferals from getting through.

The Boss noticed a shadow looming over him, and whirled around, his eyes widening as he saw a particularly large feral loom over him, his jaws hanging open, drool dripping out. Before the feral could attack, however, Arabella pounced onto his back, digging her claws into the folds of his neck. With one quick motion, she slashed the feral's throat, and the large creature dropped onto the ground with a thud.

The Boss let out a sigh of relief. Then, he and Arabella continued fighting.

* * *

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	21. Chapter 21

_Antha1: Meh._

 _I am a burglar: You're still in that neighborhood?_

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: Well, in times like these, you gotta set aside your hatred for the greater good._

* * *

When the Andersen's landed on the street near their house, they saw a massive firefight ensuing between the ferals and the people who had arrived to quell them. Thus far, the ferals were being held at bay.

"I think we should stay away from that," Bill said, voicing the thoughts of all three of them. Remembering why they came there in the first place, the three raced to their house, hoping that Ghoul was still alright. They did their best to avoid the fighting occurring only a few feet away.

Reaching the house, Riley pushed the door open and the three barged in, Riley shouting, "Ghoul? Are you in here?!"

The three didn't have far to look. The room was a mess, tables and couches having been overturned, pieces of glass and furniture scattered across the floor. However, what stuck out most to the family was the bodies of several ferals, sprawled across the ground. The three were stunned that Ghoul had managed to take them on by herself.

The three were distracted from the scene when they heard a crashing sound coming from upstairs, along with the sounds of snarling and the gnashing of teeth. Riley recognized it as the sound of another feral, and she had a good idea who it was fighting against.

"Ghoul!" She called out, hoping that her friend was holding her own.

"Help me!" Ghoul's voice called out from upstairs, signalling for the three to intervene. The family rushed to the stairway, careful to avoid the broken glass on the floor, and made their way up the stairs. As they ran upstairs, they could hear the struggle become more intense and brutal.

Finally arriving at the top of the staircase, they could see Ghoul and her assailant. The two were locked together, each trying to strike a fatal blow to the other. Both were covered in cuts and bruises, but the feral was beginning to gain the upper hand. Ghoul was fighting back, but it was clear that her fighting with the other ferals had worn her out.

Jill reacted before the others did. She fired one shot at the ground near the two, diverting the feral's attention from Ghoul, and towards the three new arrivals.

"Get away from her," Jill ordered the creature, the gun trailed on it. Immediately, the feral let go of Ghoul. Released from the creature's hold, Ghoul collapsed on the ground, utterly worn out.

The feral now turned to Jill, its back hunched over, the creature readying itself to strike. Before it could do so, Jill fired one shot at the creature. Immediately, the feral crumpled onto the floor, dead.

With the feral dead, Riley rushed over to tend to Ghoul. "Are you alright?" She asked, leaning in to inspect Ghoul's wounds.

"I'm fine," Ghoul said, struggling to get to her feet. However, that was evidently not the case, as she groaned and collapsed back onto the ground, biting her lower lip.

"You're hurt," Jill said to her. "I don't think you can keep on fighting."

"No, I can still fight," Ghoul reassured the group, despite the pain etched across her face. She once again made an attempt to stand, but had to be helped to her feet by Riley.

Bill looked downstairs. "Was that the last feral?" He asked Ghoul.

"I think so," Ghoul said, nodding slowly. "They really put up a fight."

"I think you should rest," Jill suggested to her. "We'll handle things from here. Once this street is cleared out, we'll call for the others to arrive."

Ghoul furrowed her eyebrows at Jill, looking like she wanted to argue. However, eventually her features softened, and she closed her eyes, silently obeying.

* * *

As it turned out, Ghoul had been wrong about the house being clear. Shortly after she had been laid to rest in Riley's room, Bill, Jill and Riley had investigated the rest of the house and discovered a few other ferals hiding within the basement. Fortunately, they were easy to dispose of.

Once those ferals had been taken care of, Bill had gone outside to help in taking out the remaining ferals that were scattered across the street, leaving Riley and Jill to guard the house. While Riley was inside the living room, Jill accompanied Ghoul as she lay in bed.

Alone together, the two women remained silent for some time. All they did was listen to the gunfire and the screeching coming from just outside the house. Slowly, but surely, the fighting appeared to be dying down, and they could tell the immediate swarm of ferals were soon to be eradicated.

Unexpectedly, Jill heard Ghoul whisper, "I'm sorry."

The brunette turned to face Ghoul, her eyes wide. "What did you say?' She asked, for confirmation.

"I'm sorry that I tried to act like Riley's mother," Ghoul whispered to Jill. "You're her mother, not me. I should've accepted that. I was being too controlling."

Jill stared at Ghoul, stunned. "B-But, Ghoul," She whispered. "I was the one who was wrong. You were right about me; I should've been more careful with Riley. If it hadn't been for you, she would be dead now."

"Can't argue with that," Ghoul mumbled, an almost comical tone in her voice. For a moment, she almost seemed to smile.

Then, Ghoul's smile disappeared, and she whispered, "Jill, there's something I should tell you."

"What is it?" Jill asked.

Ghoul took a deep sigh. "When I became an Other, my memory was a blur," She said slowly. "I could only remember fragments of my past, my childhood. Even when I started to heal, my memory didn't. Until now."

Jill remained silent, waiting for Ghoul to continue.

"When I was child, I was raised by my mother," Ghoul whispered. "I didn't know what happened to my dad. Either he died when I was young, or ran off, I'm still not sure. All I know is that my mother had me while she was still young, at a time when she wasn't best to be a. . . parent."

"Uh-huh," Was all Jill said. She herself remembered her own mother very clearly. Most of the memories of her parents had been happy. However, she got the feeling that wasn't the case with Ghoul.

"My mother was a junkie," Ghoul said, speaking as if she were still trying to recollect her memories. "As a child, I would often see her with these. . . drinks. It wasn't until I was an adult that I actually understand what they were. But as a child, my mother would do. . . things. She would spend whole days passed out, not making breakfast. I learned from a young age to do that myself. Other times, my mother would just. . . vanish, and I would wonder where she'd gone off to. Every time, though, she'd come back, and I never questioned it. To this day, I still don't know the answer."

"What was she like. . . to you?" Jill asked, turning away from Ghoul to stare at the wall.

". . . I don't think she liked me," Ghoul said bluntly. "Even though we lived together, she often avoided me. She would also get angry, very easily. Half of the time, she was shouting and yelling, either at me, or our neighbors. On occasion, she'd break something, like a plate, or a chair, and then she'd have to scrape together what money she had to pay for it."

Jill was silent, letting Ghoul speak.

"When I was outside, I could hear the neighbors talking," Ghoul said. "About my mother. About me. I didn't know what they were saying exactly, but I don't think it was good. The other children avoided me, too."

Jill nodded slowly, unsure of what to say.

"When I was old enough, I just. . . left," Ghoul continued. "I wanted to be out of that life. I wanted to be as far removed from my mother as possible. We didn't even exchange goodbyes. Personally, I think she was just as relieved to have me gone."

". . . Do you know what happened to your mother?" Jill asked.

Ghoul closed her eyes and shook her head. "I told you; I wanted to be as removed from hr as possible," She said. "The only thing I wanted to remember was how horrible of a parent she was, so that I could hope to be a better one."

The moment Ghoul finished speaking, Jill felt as if she understood her so much more. "I'm. . . sorry," She whispered.

"Someone has to be," Ghoul muttered.

Standing up and facing Ghoul, Jill said, "Ghoul, I know that must be a painful memory. And memories stay with us forever."

Ghoul nodded.

"But eventually, everything will become a memory," Jill continued. "And while there will be painful memories for all of us, there will be some happy ones, too. And I'm sure you've ha plenty of happy memories with Noose and Riley."

Ghoul nodded once more, and this time, she smiled. "That's true," She said.

"And I just want you to know: you _are_ a better parent than her," Jill said, and she walked over to Ghoul and hugged her. The noirette's eyes widened in shock, but eventually, she returned the hug.

Suddenly, Riley burst into the room. "Mom! Ghoul!" She shouted, causing the two women to turn to her.

"What is it, Riley?" Jill asked.

W"The ferals on the street have been beaten back," Riley said. "And Bill told me that the rest of the group are on their way here. We're one step closer to stopping this whole thing."

* * *

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	22. Chapter 22

_Al Drin Hoshizora: Yeah, thanks for explaining that to us._

 _I am a burglar: You're probably not going to find much in that house either._

* * *

After the street had been cleared away, the group had regrouped at the Andersen household. The overall battle was far from over, and the group could still hear the fighting continue in the distance, but at the moment, the immediate danger was over.

"Is everybody okay?" Jill asked as the group entered the room. "Nobody got hurt?"

"We're fine, Jill," Mary reassured her as she arrived in the room. "We got a couple cuts and bruises, but nothing major."

"That's good," Jill said, relieved.

Jordan noticed an injured Ghoul laying in the bed. "What happened to Ghoul?" He asked, concerned.

"She got into a really tough fight with some of those ferals," Jill explained to them. "She'll live, but she needs some time to recover. I guess that leaves it to the rest of us to stop this whole thing."

Riley looked out of the window. "How are things going on out there?" She asked. From the way the window was placed, she couldn't get a good look at the fighting taking place across the neighborhood.

"We're winning," The Boss reassured her. "The best those ferals had going for them was the element of surprise and chaos. Now that we're fighting back, they're starting to wither away. But it's going to take some time to eradicate them completely."

"Well then, I guess we'd better get started," George said, holding up his gun, a determined look on his face.

At that moment, the group heard a screech coming from down the streets below. Immediately, the group bolted to the window, surprised that there were still some remaining ferals in the area.

"What is it?" Ghoul asked, still lying on her bed, as the group huddled around the window, each trying to get a good look at the ferals down below. She tried to get up to follow them, but her injuries kept her in bed.

Looking down at the streets, the group indeed noticed several ferals on the group, staring back up at them with lifeless eyes. Three of the ferals in particular, all of whom were covered in scars, seemed to single out Riley in particular.

One of them opened its jaws, and a low whisper seeped out through its fanged teeth. _"Yellowjacket."_

Riley gasped in horror, recoiling from the window. Quickly, Bill whipped out his handgun and aimed at the ferals, but they scampered off to the house on the left. They yanked the door open and rushed inside, slamming the door behind them.

Once the ferals were gone, Bill and Jill turned back to Riley. "Riley?" Bill asked, concerned for his daughter.

Riley shivered, rubbing her arm. "I. . . know them," She whispered to the rest of the group.

"Riley, what are you talking about?" Jill asked, confused.

"Remember Sawbones?" She asked her parents. When they nodded, Riley continued, saying, "He lived in that mental asylum with those other creeps. He took me there once; those ferals were his lackeys, or something."

Jill scratched her head, and her eyes widened as she herself remembered an incident that had transpired several months ago. It was back when the apocalypse was in full-force and when zombies were running rampant, so the event had been submerged in her subconscious. Until now.

"Hey, I remember them, too!" Jill exclaimed. "In the forest, when me and the rest of the group left the cabin looking for you and Bill. We were attacked by those ferals in the woods, but we escaped!"

"Them?" George asked, his memory of the event coming back to him. "I thought they would've been killed off by now."

"It seems not," Riley said, walking back up to the window. "I bet you they're the reason the ferals have managed to get as far as they have. And now they want me."

"Well then we'll just have to kill them first!" Arabella snarled, flashing her claws. "Come on, let's go get them!"

The group was about to exit the room when Ghoul called out, "Wait!"

The others turned around to face the bedridden Ghoul. "If those ferals are who I think they are, you have to be very careful," Ghoul warned the group. "Especially you, Riley. You're the one they want."

"I know that," Riley replied. There was a twinge of fear in her voice.

Jill looked down at her daughter. "Riley, I want you to stay here," She told her daughter. "Keep Ghoul safe. We'll handle those ferals, I promise."

Riley slowly nodded to her mother, smiling softly. Turning to Ghoul, she said, "Don't worry; I'll make sure they don't hurt you."

Turning around, Bill said, "Come on guys, let's go." With that, the group exited the room to go to the house and eradicate the ferals.

As they left, Riley slowly got into bed alongside Ghoul. Huddling up close to her, she silently prayed that her parents and the others would be able to prevail. For her and Ghoul's sake.

* * *

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	23. Chapter 23

_No reviews, it seems. Interesting._

 _Well, let's continue, then. This story is almost at an end._

* * *

The group, minus Riley and Ghoul, exited the Andersen house and rushed towards the next house to eradicate the last few ferals in the area. As they left the house, they could hear the gunfire beginning to die down; they could tell the battle in the neighborhood was coming to a close.

They just had to finish it.

As they neared the door to the house, Bill briefly halted the group. "Alright everybody, before we go in there, we need to set some rules," He said.

"Rules?" George asked, his shoulders slumping. "Seriously?"

Bill ignored him and continued. "Now, we've all watched horror flicks, and during a time like this, most horror flick characters will split up to cover more ground," He told the group. "With that in mind, we will definitely. . ."

"Oh jeez, here it comes," Jordan whispered, dreading what was coming next.

". . . Not be doing that," Bill finished.

Jordan's eyes widened. ". . . Really?" He said.

"These are dangerous creatures we're up against, so it'd be best for us to stay together at all times for safety," Bill said. "Nobody strays from the group. Are we clear?"

"Yes!" The rest of the group said.

"Thank God," Jordan whispered.

"Now let's go!" Bill shouted, raising his gun in the area. With that, the group charged towards the house, Bill kicking the door open so they could enter the house.

Once they were inside, the group was immediately engulfed in darkness. All the lights had been shut off, and the only source of illumination was the full moon shining in the night sky. The group could hardly see a thing.

"Someone turn on the lights," Jill whispered to the group.

Mary reached for the light switch next to the door, but as she flipped it on, the lights remained off. "It looks like they cut the power," She said with a shrug. "It seems we'll have to fight them in the dark."

"Oh well," Bill said, shrugging his shoulders. "We've had worse, haven't we, Jill?" He appeared to be taking the situation rather well.

"As long as we just stay together, we should be fine," Jill reassured everyone, trying to keep everyone calm.

A few moments later, the group heard the sound of screeching coming from a dark hallway. "I think I see one!" Arabella shouted, and impulsively dashed down the hallway to the source of the voice.

"Arabella, no!" The Boss shouted, racing after her.

"Wait, stop!" Jill shouted, but it was too late. The two had vanished into the hallway.

As the group was about to follow, they heard the sound of a door being slammed shut and locked in the hallway. A pounding sound soon followed on the door.

"Hey!" The Boss' voice rang out from in the dark hallway. "Let me out!"

"Boss, what's happening over there?" Bill asked, worried.

"This door's shut!" The Boss shouted from the other end of the hallway. "It won't open! I'm trapped!"

Bill mouthed a curse word. "Alright, don't worry, we're coming," He reassured the Boss. Gesturing for the rest of the group to follow him, Bill led the small party down the small hallway. The group kept themselves on high alert, in case any ferals were nearby.

"Where's the door?" Mary asked from within the center of the group.

"I think I see it," Bill replied. He outstretched his arm, feeling around to try and find it. "It should be right here."

"I don't hear the Boss anymore," Noose said, worried. "Or Arabella. Do you think something happened to them?"

To be sure, Bill called out, "Boss?"

He got no reply.

"Crap," Bill whispered. Luckily, though, he had found the door.

"Let me get this open," He said. Raising his foot, he slammed the bottom of his boot against the door repeatedly. The door was old and weak, and it didn't take long before it began to give away.

As Bill was about to give the door one final kick, Jill said, "Hey, there are three doors here."

Bill didn't have time to react to Jill's statement. He kicked the door open with such force that he ended up stumbling through the demolished door.

And that was when everything went wrong.

Bill let out a shout when suddenly, the floor beneath him gave away. The floorboards crumbled underneath his feet, and Bill dropped through the floor before the rest of the group could react.

"Bill!" Jill shouted in horror.

The group heard a thud from down below, signaling that Bill had landed in the lower sections of the house. They could hear him groaning in pain from down below.

"Bill, are you okay?" Jill called down to him.

With a grown, Bill called out, "I landed on my side. Pretty busted up, but I'll live."

"We'll come down and get you," Jill reassured him. However, before they group could do anything else, luck began to turn on them once more.

Suddenly, the door on the left burst open, and two screeching ferals lunged out at the group, their claws outstretched. They dove through the group, their howls echoing in the ears of the shocked group.

"What's going on?!" Mary shouted, caught off guard by the sudden attack.

"Something scratched me!" George shouted out in pain.

 _"We're all gonna die!"_ Jordan shouted out in a panic. Without thinking, he unleashed a flurry of bullets in the direction of the feral's screeching. Immediately, a shout of pain filled the air. The group recognized it as belonging to Shelley.

Before anyone could do anything more, a pair of clawed hands reached out and grabbed onto Shelley and Mary, dragging them into darkness. Their screams tapered off as the sound of a door slamming shut silenced them.

"Mary?!" George shouted out in horror. "Shelley?!"

It was no use. They were gone.

Trying to remain calm, Jill looked around in utter darkness and called out, "Okay, who here is left."

"It's just me, Rob, Jordan and Noose," George explained. "The others are. . . gone."

Jill swore under her breath. What had seemed like such an easy mission had just been complicated before the fight had even started. Now, the group had been scattered across the house.

It would take a miracle for them all to make it through the night.

* * *

Riley sat with Ghoul, who lay in the bed silently. Riley had a hand rested upon Ghoul's shoulder, comforting her.

"Don't worry Ghoul, it'll be alright," She reassured her friend. "Our friends will be okay. You just keep calm for me now, alr-"

She was cut off when she heard the sound of a window being smashed through outside the room. The sudden movement caused Ghoul to spring upwards in her bed, her eyes widened in shock.

Both girls turned in the direction of the crash, quickly up and alert. They listened for any more sounds, wondering if someone had broken into the house.

Sure enough, the two heard the sound of footsteps coming from near the crash. Accompanying it was the unmistakable sound of a feral grunting.

Riley's heart started thumping. One of the ferals had broken into the house.

Her hand clenched around her gun. Slowly, she stood up, her arms trembling as she held the firearm in her hands.

"Riley. . ." Ghoul whispered softly.

Riley didn't say anything. She simply motioned with her hand to keep Ghoul steady.

"Don't worry," She told her. "I can handle this."

But, as the sound of the feral's footsteps slowly got closer and closer to the room, Riley found herself doubting her own words.

* * *

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	24. Chapter 24

_Al Drin Hoshizora: He got separated from the rest of the group._

 _Guest: Just gone. Not dead. Happy?_

 _Antha1: Okay..._

* * *

Riley pressed herself against the door, listening for the sounds of the feral out in the hallway. She could hear it, scraping through the hallways, opening every door as it searched for her and Ghoul. She knew that it was drawing closer; it wouldn't be long until it reached her and Ghoul.

And once it did, Ghoul would be in danger.

Riley took a deep breath. She knew she had to take care of the feral quickly, before it reached the room. Her hand groped for the doorknob, her arm trembling as she steeled herself to throw the door open and rush out.

Open the door. Shoot the feral. Easy.

Riley decided to stop hesitating. The longer she waited, the more of an advantage she was giving to the feral. She had to finish it now.

Without waiting another second to ponder, Riley swung the door open, bolted out, and whirled her gun in the direction the feral was coming. Before she saw anything, she fired a bullet into the dark hallway.

In that brief second, Riley saw a door down the end of the hallway swing open and then shut. She knew immediately that the feral had retreated into her parent's room.

Riley hesitated to pursue it. All the lights in the house had been knocked out; in these circumstances, the feral held the advantage. And if it got within close ranges with her, she would be finished.

"I need another weapon," She whispered to herself.

Hoping that the feral wouldn't leave the room during this time, Riley quickly retreated downstairs into the living room, trying to be as quiet as possible. Once she had reached the last flight of steps, Riley walked briskly towards the kitchen and picked out a large knife.

At the very least, if her gun wasn't an option, she'd have a weapon for close combat.

With the gun and knife in hand, Riley headed back towards the stairs, a little more confident. If she tread carefully, she might be able to take out this last feral by herself.

As she stormed up the stairs, Riley thought she could make out a figure, crouched at the top of the stairs. It was so dark that she couldn't quite make out who it was.

"Ghoul?" Riley asked, just to make sure.

Riley was met with a low growl for a response. That was all she needed.

Raising the gun, Riley fired two shots, but the feral retreated deeper into the hallways. Riley picked up the pace, rushing up the stairs towards it. She was nearly blind in the hallways, but if she was quick enough, she could kill it before it did too much damage.

Alas, things never did go to plan.

The moment Riley reached the top of the stairs, a vase was hurled out of the emptiness of the hallway and right towards it. Instinctively raising her arm to defend herself, Riley was knocked a few steps back when the vase smashed against her. She nearly lost her footing and dropped down the staircase, but managed to grab the railing and steady herself before she did. Unfortunately, this caused her to drop her gun, letting it fall down the side of the railing and into the dark abyss.

Riley stared down at the emptiness where the gun had fallen, and silently swore to herself.

"Well, Plan B, I guess," She said, shrugging to herself. Her mission had just gotten much harder.

Looking into the hallway, Riley could see the creature. It was standing upright, its back slightly hunched over. Its claws were extended, the creature in a defensive position. Though she could not see its face, Riley knew the creature was staring at her.

Holding her knife out, Riley approached the creature slowly, remaining alert in case the creature tried a sudden attack. The feral remained still, allowing her to come to him. Its hissing and growling had slowed to a stop, and it was completely silent now.

Riley stopped walking when she was a few inches from the creature. The two faced each other in the darkness, neither making a move. Both remained in high alert, waiting to see who would strike first.

Eventually, Riley made the first move. Jabbing the blade forward quickly, Riley narrowly missed her target's chest as the creature dodged out of the way. She swung her blade upwards, towards its chin, but the feral's hand shot out and knocked the blade back. Fortunately, Riley held onto the knife.

Putting both hands on the knife, Riley took a few steps forward, swinging the knife at the creature as a warning. The creature began stepping backwards to avoid the blade.

 _Good,_ Riley thought. _I have to keep it as far away from Ghoul as I can._

Unexpectedly, the creature lashed out. Its claws swung at Riley's head, forcing the girl to dodge them, narrowly avoiding getting cut. She swung her blade out, nicking the creature's arm. It reeled backwards, clutching its wounded arm.

Riley remained still, clutching the blade tightly. The blood from the creature dripped from the tip of the knife, specks of it landing on the floor.

She had drawn first blood.

Riley was secretly proud that she had lasted this long in close combat. However, when she saw the look the creature gave her, she knew immediately that she was going to have to try much harder than simply nick the creature if she was going to win this fight.

This duel couldn't last long. She wouldn't be able to hold out for that long.

She had to end it quickly.

* * *

The Boss wandered through the dark hallways of the unfamiliar house. After having been separated from the group, he had left in search of Arabella. However, locating the girl had proven a harder task than he'd have thought.

In hindsight, he figured he should've expected this. The girl had spent so much time evading him and his men during the times of the apocalypse; it appears even when they were allies, she hadn't quite dropped that habit.

As the Boss paused to check an empty room, he thought he heard rapid footsteps coming in his direction. Whipping his head down at the end of the hallway, he saw one of the ferals, charging directly at him. It howled out as it approached.

The Boss quickly drew his weapon, but the feral was too fast. Knocking the gun out of his hands, the feral then tackled the Boss into the room. The two men landed onto the ground, the feral on top of the Boss.

A furious struggle ensued, the two thrashing violently at each other. They rolled over one another, trying to gain an advantage over the other. One slash from the feral left four bloody claw marks in the Boss' chest.

The Boss grunted in pain, and rage overtook him. Flipping the feral onto its back, the Boss pinned it down and unleashed a flurry of brutal punches into the feral's jaw and chest. The feral struggled, but the Boss beat down its defenses, not giving the feral enough time to counter-attack.

Delivering one final, devastating blow, the Boss felt the creature's neck snap from the force of the punch. Immediately, the creature's body went limp, and its head slumped to the side.

Panting, exhausted, the Boss slowly rose from the creature's dead body. He stared down at the lifeless feral, shocked that he had killed it with his bare hands.

"Huh. I didn't know you had it in you."

Shocked, the Boss whirled around. His eyes widened when he saw, crouched in the corner in the dark room, was none other than Arabella. She was sitting on top of the body of another feral, no doubt killed by her.

"You. . . you were here the whole time?" The Boss asked, stunned.

Arabella nodded.

The Boss' eyebrows furrowed. "Why didn't you help me?" He asked.

"I figured you had it covered," Arabella said. Glancing at the feral's dead body, she then added, "It seems I was right."

Picking up his gun, the Boss turned to Arabella and said, "Alright, no more funny business. The rest of the group is in danger, and it's up to us to help them."

"You mean, like a team?" Arabella asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Something like that," The Boss said, shrugging.

Arabella's face remained expressionless for a moment. Then, a toothy grin flashed across her mouth.

"Count me in."

* * *

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	25. Chapter 25

_Al Drin Hoshizora: Uh-huh._

 _I am a burglar: Sure thing._

 _Apologies for taking such a long time to update, but events kept me occupied. The story is coming to a close, so hopefully, it should be finished soon._

* * *

Riley was astounded she had lasted so long.

She and the feral had been locked in a stalemate for quite a number of minutes, neither seeming to gain much of an advantage. The feral was on alert, careful to cover all of its vulnerable areas. Meanwhile, Riley was careful to avoid the feral's strikes; she knew that if the feral got one blow in, it would all be over.

The feral suddenly struck out, forcing Riley to jump backwards. Her brief stumble allowed the feral to move forward, and Riley frantically began swinging her knife at the feral to force it back. However, the feral swung out its arm and batted Riley's hand, causing the knife to go flying out of her hands.

Riley gasped as she saw her weapon soar over her head and down the stairs, embedding itself in the floor at the bottom of the stairs. She whirled around towards the feral just as it struck, its claws barely missing her throat. Stumbling backwards, Riley lost her footing and tumbled down the flight of stairs, landing right next to her knife at the end of the staircase.

Breathing heavily, Riley glanced upwards and saw the feral pounce, flying down the staircase towards her. Quickly, Riley pulled the knife out of the floor and dodged out of the way as the feral landed at the bottom of the stairs nearby.

Riley raised her knife in self-defense, her arm shaking as the feral turned to face her. It cocked its head, it's soulless eyes examining her carefully.

 _"Yellow. . . jacket. . ."_ A whisper escaped its decayed lips.

Hearing her former name made Riley shudder. Despite her fear, she responded, whispering with gritted teeth, "No. Not anymore."

Even in the darkness, Riley could see the way the feral's eyes narrowed. It stepped to the side, cornering Riley against the wall and keeping her from finding an escape point. Its arms were stretched to the side, waiting for the moment to strike.

Pressed against the wall, Riley held the knife in her shaking fist, sweat dripping down her forehead. She stepped to the side, following the feral's movements. Her eyes were so fixated on her assailant that she didn't notice she was nearing the open basement door right behind her.

When the feral inevitably struck, Riley instinctively stepped back. In doing so, she lost her footing and dropped down the basement stairs, the knife flying out of her grip.

Riley landed with a thud at the bottom of the stairs. Groaning in pain, she struggled to roll onto her back, the wind knocked out of her. Looking up, she saw the feral, looming down at her from the top of the staircase.

Riley struggled to move, but she was in too much pain. She couldn't get to her feet.

The feral hissed, and readied itself to pounce. Filled with fear, Riley shielded her face, bracing herself for the agony she would soon suffer.

 _BANG! BANG! BANG!_

Riley moved her arm from her face, staring up as she heard the sound of bullets flying from the top of the stairs. She saw the feral, its head turned away from her, staring at someone that Riley could not see.

The feral let out a hiss and quickly scampered off in the direction of whomever had shot at it. Riley simply lay on the ground, confused and dazed, wondering who had come to her rescue.

Then, realization sank in, and her eyes widened in horror.

"Ghoul!"

* * *

Bill rushed through the house, gun in hand. After being separated from the rest of the group, he had set off in search of the others. As of yet, he had escaped the basement, but hadn't encountered any ferals or other members of the group.

As Bill crept through the darkened house, high on alert, he thought he heard the sound of pained groaning coming from within a room. He knew it wasn't the sound of a feral, so he hurriedly rushed towards the source of the groaning, opening a door and rushing inside.

"Who's there?" He whispered, his voice low.

"B-Bill?" A voice called out from within the darkness.

"Mary?" Bill asked, recognizing the voice. Moving towards her voice, he called out, "Where are you?"

Mary slowly crept out of the darkness, holding Shelley, who had a bullet wound in her shoulder. "She's hurt," She said as she half-carried her slightly older housemate towards Bill. "We managed to lose those ferals in the darkness, but they're not far away. We have to find the others."

"This night just keeps getting better and better," Bill groaned. Taking Shelley's other arm, he and Mary carried the blonde out of the room. As they exited through the door, however, the trio heard screeching coming from down the hallway.

"Oh crap," Bill said through gritted teeth. The three turned around to see two ferals, staring at them from down the hallway. They screeched and charged down the hallway at lightning speed towards them.

Bill rushed to get his gun ready, but the ferals were too fast. He knew he'd never be able to take out his gun and shoot them in time.

 _BANG!_

One of the ferals lurched forward suddenly and crashed onto the ground at the trio's feet, a bullet wound in the back of its head. The feral stopped in its tracks, spinning around at whoever had shot its partner. Bill, Shelley and Mary looked over the feral's shoulder as well to see who had fired.

There, standing at the end of the hallway, was the Boss and Arabella. The Boss had his gun trailed on the other feral, while Arabella had her claws brandished, ready for a fight.

The feral let out a screech and charged down the hallway at the two, only to be shot in the back by Bill. It crashed onto the ground but continued to crawl down the hallway. Barely even noticing the feral, the Boss and Arabella walked down the hallway towards the other members of the group, the Boss stomping down on the feral's head as they passed by.

"Boss, where have you been?" Bill asked once the Boss and Arabella were within arms length of him.

"We had some trouble, but we made it through," The Boss revealed to him. "Now come on, we've got a battle to win here."

Bill nodded, and immediately, the group raced down the hallway to find the rest of their team, and finish the battle once and for all.

* * *

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	26. Chapter 26

_I am a burglar: Yeah, do everyone a favor and get out of that house. Things are about to get ugly._

* * *

Jill, George, Rob, Jordan and Noose moved carefully through the dark room they were currently trapped in. After being separated from the others, they had made sure to remain close together, to make it harder for the ferals to pick them off.

Suddenly, a silhouette darted across the room on all fours, a hiss piercing the air. Immediately, Jill fired off a bullet, which vanished into the empty abyss. A distinctive _ping_ sound echoed in the room, signaling that the bullet had hit the wall.

"Get close to me," Jill whispered to the others. The group huddled close to each other, facing in all directions to keep on alert. They remained quiet, listening close for any strange sounds.

Low giggling and scratching sounds began to rise from all sides of the group. The sounds sent shivers from the small group as they stood, blind, in the empty darkness, huddled close together. They felt surrounded, trapped.

The giggling and growling was coming closer now. In the empty darkness, however, nobody could see any sign of the creatures. It was as if the sounds were coming from nothing.

Though unable to see anything, Jill fired off a few warning shots into the darkness. "I'm warning you!" She shouted out at the ferals. "Keep away!"

The growling was replaced with low hissing, and soon, the noises died down. The group was plunged into a deathly silence.

It remained like that for a few moments. Nobody said a thing or moved a muscle; they simply waited to see what the ferals had in store.

Suddenly, a large object was slammed into the group, the force of the blow causing the group to collapse onto the ground. Jill's gun was thrown out of her grip, clattering onto the ground.

Groaning in pain, Jill struggled to get up, but the object was suddenly brought down on her back, knocking her down on the floor once more. Above her, she could hear loud growling and high-pitched giggling coming from the feral, unseen in the darkness.

The object, which Jill had identified as a wooden chair, was tossed to the side. In the darkness, Jill could barely make out a row of razor-sharp teeth, coming straight towards her neck. Too weak to get up, Jill could only brace herself for the pain that was sure to follow.

 _CRASH!_

Shearing bright light flooded into the room as one of the doors was kicked open. Exposed to the light, the ferals in the room all whipped to the source of the light. Their eyes widened when they saw the other half of the group at the door, with Bill and the Boss at the head.

Before the ferals could react, Bill and the Boss charged into the room, firing at the ferals. One by one, the ferals were felled by the bullets. They collapsed, dead, on the ground. One of the ferals crept out from the shadows and lunged at the Boss, but suddenly, Arabella lashed out and slashed the feral across the chest. It landed on the ground, wounded and near death.

"Bill!" Jill shouted out, springing off the ground and rushing to her husband. She wrapped her arms around him and their lips locked.

Arabella grimaced. "Could you two get a room?" She grumbled, shielding her eyes.

Breaking out of Jill's embrace, Bill said, "We've cleared the house. These were the last of 'em."

"Thank goodness," Jill said, relieved. "We have to get back to Riley and Ghoul and tell them the good news."

Passing the corpses of the ferals, Arabella walked over to the window facing the Andersen house. Peering out the window at the house, she squinted her eyes at the house, and her eyes widened as she noticed something.

"Hey guys," She said, sounding unusually nervous. "I think we may have to get to Riley and Ghoul quicker than we thought."

Confused, the rest of the group followed Arabella to the window. Staring in the direction she was pointing at, the group was filled with horror when they saw the shattered window on the same floor they had left Riley and Ghoul at.

"Oh no!" Jill shouted in horror. Before anyone could say anything, Jill tore out of the room, desperate to reach her house.

Before it was too late.

* * *

Ghoul was filled with fear as she trailed her gun on the advancing feral before her. She had successfully diverted its attention away from Riley, but now it was focused on her.

Had Ghoul been at full health, she knew she could take the feral on. But she still felt the injuries she had received from the hours spent fighting the ferals earlier that night, and she knew her gun was her only chance of survival.

The feral approached cautiously, staring at the gun in Ghoul's hand. The young woman fired a bullet at it, but the feral managed to dodge out of the way in time. It continued to advance forward, the gap between the two closing with each passing second. Ghoul could feel her heartbeat increasing as the feral neared.

Desperate, Ghoul began firing rapidly. The feral dodged out of the way of Ghoul's bullets, then unexpectedly lunged at her. Still weak from her earlier injuries, Ghoul was too slow to react, and the feral slapped the gun out of her hand, then grabbed her and violently pinned her to the wall.

Ghoul groaned and struggled to free herself, but the feral's grip on her was too strong. The feral opened its jaw and breathed heavily, and Ghoul recoiled as she felt its hot breath on her face.

The feral almost appeared to be cackling as it drew back, ready to plunge its jaws into her neck. Too weak to resist, Ghoul could only close her eyes, and accept her fate.

Suddenly, the feral let out an ear-piercing shriek and released Ghoul, who collapsed onto the ground. Looking up in shock, Ghoul watched as the feral stumbled around, and she saw a knife protruding from the feral's back.

Turning to the right, Ghoul saw Riley, standing at the feral's side.

"Riley," She breathed out.

The young teenager rushed to Ghoul's side, grabbing her and helping the woman to her feet. They turned and saw the feral rip the knife out of its back, dropping it onto the ground. It then turned to the two girls, its eyes filled with hatred.

The two didn't wait for the feral to react. Riley rushed out and head-butt the feral in the gut, causing it to double over in agony. Ghoul lashed out with her claws, scratching the back of the feral's neck.

The feral was utterly defenseless as the two girls double-teamed him, kicking and punching him repeatedly. Riley kicked its knees, causing it to drop down onto the ground. Ghoul then gripped the back of the feral's neck and violently hurled it down the flight of stairs. It toppled down the stairs, coming to a stop at the bottom of the staircase.

Ghoul turned to Riley. "Good job, Rile!" She said, giving Riley a slap on the back. Riley giggled in response.

The two turned back to the feral as they heard its soft groaning. Slowly, the two descended down the stairs, watching the feral as it slowly got to its feet. They stopped walking half-way down the stairs, and simply stared down at the creature.

Bleeding, the injured feral got to its feet and stared up at the two. It was breathing heavily and its back was hunched over. It was visibly exhausted from its beat down, but the two could tell that it wasn't planning to give in.

The feral let out a loud screech in a desperate attempt to induce fear from the two.

Instead, Ghoul responded with a zombie-like growl, joined by Riley as well. They stood tall over the feral, showing no fear.

The feral narrowed its eyes, baring its teeth. Though weakened, it readied itself to charge.

Ghoul and Riley held hands with each other, ready to face the feral's inevitable attack. They would face the creature together, as a team.

The feral crouched down, its eyes fixated on the two. It bared its teeth, let out a low growl, and then, it pounced.

 _BANG!_

A gunshot rang through the air. Immediately, the feral fell limp in midair, landing on the stairs at Riley and Ghoul's feet. It slid down the staircase and collapsed on the ground on its stomach, revealing a bullet in its back.

Shocked, Riley and Ghoul looked up at the open door to see Jill, the gun in her hand. The rest of the group stood behind her.

There was an exhausted, yet relieved look on Jill's face as she gazed up at Riley and Ghoul. The gun slipped from her fingers and clattered onto the ground, and she walked slowly towards the two.

"Mom!" Riley shouted in joy, and she jumped over the feral's body and ran into Jill's arm. The two were joined by Bill shortly afterwards. Behind them, the rest of the group simply watched on, relieved.

Ghoul watched as Riley was embraced by her parents. She rubbed her arms uncomfortably, and slowly stared away from them gazing to the side silently.

"Ghoul."

Ghoul's eyes widened as she hard Jill's soft voice, and she turned to see the older woman, her free arm extended towards her. Ghoul stared at Jill's hand hesitantly, and slowly reached out to shake it.

The moment Ghoul gripped Jill's hand, the older woman yanked Ghoul into the group hug. Ghoul froze up as she felt the family embrace her warmly.

After a few moments, she graciously returned the hug, and a soft smile appearing on her lips.

* * *

 _Read and review._


	27. Chapter 27

_Al Drin Hoshizora: Yeah, hooray._

 _I am a burglar: What are you going to do with it?_

* * *

By the end of the night, the fight was over. The Others and the Freaks had won. The ferals had been overpowered.

But even then, everyone knew this wouldn't be the end. Not all of the ferals were dead, and some continued to lurk about in the city, waiting for the chance to strike. It was clear to everyone that the fighting would continue; for how long, no one was certain.

People were afraid. At night, people rushed into their homes, locked their doors, and shut their windows, taking everyone precaution necessary to avoid falling victim to the same fate that nearly befell the Andersen's neighborhood.

But not everyone was going to hide. There were those, Freaks and Others, that would stand and fight against the threat. They wouldn't stop until the threat was extinguished, this time for good.

Nobody knew how long it would take until people could safely step outside their homes again. But one thing was for sure.

They wouldn't let their fear control them any longer.

* * *

"She's here!"

Riley nearly jumped with excitement when she heard Mary call out to her from downstairs. Even though Mary hadn't said who it was, Riley knew immediately who she was referring to.

Racing out of her room and dashing down the stairs, Riley nearly jumped for joy when she saw Meg and her mother at the door, which Mary held open. Meg had her head bandaged up, but otherwise she looked fine.

"Meg!" Riley shouted, racing forward and enveloping her redheaded friend in a huge hug. "You're back from the hospital! You're alright!"

"Hey, it takes more than a simple concussion to keep me down," Meg chuckled as she rubbed Riley's back. Then, her face turned serious and she gripped Riley's shoulders tightly.

"I heard about what happened in the neighborhood a couple days ago," Meg said to her. "You didn't get hurt, did you?"

"If I did, I wouldn't be here right now," Riley pointed out with a smile. Then, she frowned and continued, saying, "Quite a few people did die, though. The neighborhood is understandably tense. My dad and the Boss are doing their best to ensure the ferals don't manage this sort of chaos again."

Meg nodded. "What's happening now?" She asked.

"Well, Ghoul and Noose and our other friends are staying with us now," Riley revealed. "Mom felt that if the ferals strike again, we'd be safer together, as a unit. Don't blame her, though; we made a good time when those ferals attacked! You should've been there!"

"I'd have probably died," Meg confessed. She was joking, of course, but Riley could sense some genuineness in her tone.

"Where are your folks?" Meg's mother asked, looking around the room.

Riley let out a sigh. "They're out checking the city for any sign of more ferals," She explained. "In fact, they should be returning right about. . ."

As if on cue, the four heard a truck park in the driveway. Riley's parents, the Boss, Arabella, and Ghoul and Noose exited the large truck, all of them carrying guns, and walked through the door into the living room.

"Well look who's back from the hospital!" Jill said when she saw Meg at the door. Ruffling the girl's head, she said, "How was it?"

"I've had worse," Meg reassured them. "Like when I was infected."

Riley turned to her father. "Did you find any?" She asked urgently.

Bill sadly shook his head. "Those ferals are doing a good job laying low," He explained. "After the fighting in the neighborhood, they must have shrunken back into the shadows, waiting for another opening to strike."

"But we won't let them get that opening," Arabella reassured. Leaning on the Boss' arm, she said, "Not with our combined strength."

Riley raised an eyebrow at Arabella and the Boss. "You two. . ." She whispered, scratching her head.

"We're still working on things," The Boss explained to Riley. "But Arabella figured that now's as good a time as any to. . . bury the hatchet, in a sense."

"But not too deep," Arabella added, patting the Boss on the arm.

Riley rolled her eyes, and then turned to Ghoul and Noose, smiling brightly. "I'm so happy you two are staying with us now!" She said, walking forward and wrapping her arms around Ghoul and Noose in a hug. "It'll be just like old times, except we're hunting ferals instead of Freaks!'

Ghoul nodded and patted Riley on the head. She briefly turned to Jill, who simply smiled and nodded herself.

This didn't go unnoticed by Riley.

* * *

 _ **(In Riley's Mind)**_

"I'm so happy things are finally working out for the better!" Joy exclaimed from the console. "Our life is looking up after all!"

"Looking up?!" Anger shouted from the other side of the Headquarters. It was clear he wasn't as optimistic as Joy.

"Those ferals are still on the loose, and you think things are working out for the better?" Anger asked. "We don't even know where they're hiding!"

"I'm scared, Joy," Fear exclaimed, shivering. "What if they come back?"

Joy was about to reply, but Disgust interrupted. "If they come back, they'll be sorry they ever did!" She stated firmly, causing all eyes to snap towards her.

"We showed those ferals a thing or two those few days ago," Disgust said to the other emotions. "We sent a clear message to them: if they try to hurt our family, they're going _down_. We beat them bad that night, and it'll take a long time for them to recover!"

"Yeah," Joy said, taking Disgust's side. "We may not know what those ferals are up to currently, but here's what we do know: we're not giving up without a fight! If those ferals want to get nasty, we'll get nasty right back! Got it?"

"Yes!" The other emotions immediately replied.

* * *

In the living room, the group suddenly heard Jordan call from downstairs in the basement, "Everybody, get down here! You have to see this!"

Jordan sounded urgent, so the others quickly descended into the basement. Downstairs, Jordan, George, Shelley, and Rob were sitting on the couch, their eyes glued to the television screen.

It didn't take long for the others to see why Jordan had called them downstairs.

"This morning, the downtown financial district was unexpectedly attacked by a group are ferals," A news reporter explained on the television screen. "Dozens of civilians are currently locked inside their homes, trying to avoid the carnage. The local police are attempting to quell the situation, with little results."

On the screen, the group could see several dozen ferals rampaging through the district, attacking anyone unlucky enough to not be indoors. There were a few police attempting to keep the ferals at bay, but there were not enough to stop them.

Slowly, Jill and Bill exchanged glances with each other. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Jill asked her husband with a grin.

Before Bill could reply, the Boss slapped a hand on his shoulder. "I think we _all_ are," He pointed out, and gestured to the rest of the group, who all held a determined expression on their faces.

"If you're going, we're coming with," George said, and cracked his knuckles, clearly itching for a fight.

Bill and Jill grinned in response. Then, the two looked down at Riley, and their grins vanished. "Riley. . ." Jill whispered, kneeling down to Riley's eye level and placing a hand on her shoulder.

Riley held a serious look in her eyes. "I'm coming with you," She said without hesitation. "If you're going, I'm coming with you."

"But Riley, it's dangerous," Bill pointed out to her, concerned.

"I know," Riley replied, nodding. "But if there's one thing I've learned, it's that as long as we're together, we can prevail. And as long as you're by my side, I can handle anything." She smiled.

For a moment, Bill and Jill stared at Riley, expressionless. Then, they returned Riley's smile.

"Thatta girl," Bill said, and ruffled Riley's hair.

"Come on, everybody, let's go!" Arabella called out to the rest of the group. Without wasting a moment, everyone got up and rushed up the stairs to head to the truck.

"I got the firearms in the truck!" The Boss reassured everyone as they stepped out of the house. "Enough for everybody!"

"Who needs stupid firearms when you got clawed arms?" Arabella pointed out, twitching her sharp-edged fingers as she spoke.

As everyone hopped into the truck, Meg and her mother both called out from the house, "Be careful, everybody!"

"Don't worry, we will!" Riley called out to the two.

And with those final words, the truck exited the drive-through and sped down the street towards the battle at the financial district.

And with that, the adventure continued.

* * *

 **The End.**


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